Post-Game Quotes: Texas A&M 2, TCU 1
6/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 1 
| Photo Gallery 2
TCU Head Baseball Coach Jim Schlossnagle
Opening Statement:
"It was a great college baseball game. You certainly have to tip your cap to Matt Kent and Preston Morrison. That was a treat to watch. It was two guys that don't blow up the radar gun and they proved you don't have to do that to really, really pitch. We had a few chances early, but Kent was smothering there until the end. We certainly knew Hendrix was down in the bullpen and he's really, really good. I felt like our best chance to win the game was to try and get that extra in the ninth inning."
"I'm proud of the way we played and excited to get a chance to play again on Monday."
On importance of Preston Morrison:
"It's been an unbelievable career. He's the best pitcher in the history of this school -- bar none. It's not even close. He's a TCU hall of famer for sure. I'm not ready to eulogize him yet in terms of his career. Most of the time when I take the ball from him we're either winning or we're right in the game and that's what happened today."
On facing Kent:
"We knew Kent could really, really pitch. We were hoping because it was his third start in eight days that he would be a little tired, but he was even better. The story of the game is Kent, no doubt about it, and Preston too. Matt did a great job and he found a rhythm and it's fought to beat a good pitcher like that when he gets it going."
On Monday's game:
"I expect another great ball game. You have two really good teams and two veterans teams, and two teams that shouldn't be playing each other. A&M should have been a national seed, but that's what happens when you play in the great state of Texas. There is no four seeds coming out of regionals here. You have to beat a really good team. It's going to be a great game; no doubt about it."
"Certainly there are a lot of guys available. That's the beauty of having a guy go out there and throw nine-plus innings like Preston did ... It's all hands on decker except for Morrison."
Confidence in team:
"We have been to Omaha twice at TCU and both times we won the first one, lost the second, and did OK in the third. I'm going to bank on that. The past never equals the future in baseball. You have to go play the game. We'll be ready."
Garrett Crain, 2B
On Monday's Game 3:
"Today was a tough one, but we have all the confidence in our team and in our pitching staff. We know all the hard work we put in and everything we have done to this point have been for games like this. We have all the confidence in the world."
On TAMU's Matt Kent:
"He was doing well with his off speed and mixing pitching up and keeping us off balance ... He doesn't throw as hard as other guys do and he had to spot up really well today."
On the mood going into Monday:
"We're ready to go. I know that we'll be ready to go for Monday and we'll be pretty confident when we get to the field ... We have so much confidence in our pitchers that they're going to go out there and keep us in the game, and that we're going to score some runs."
Preston Morrison, RHP
On his overall performance:
"It was a lot of fun to pitch in that game. It's like the last game (against NC State). (Texas A&M) is a great team and it was fun to compete out there. Like last time, the difference in the winner and the loser was by a razor blade."
Last game at Lupton Stadium:
"(I didn't) until Coach Schloss came out there and let me know I was done. He told me I did a great job and I have had a great career here. Hopefully, I get to pitch a couple more times (in the CWS) ... I was proud of the way I pitched. They are a great team. It took me competing and making quality pitches as much as I did for us to stay in the ball game."
On his career:
"I'm so blessed to be a part of a great program. For four years, it's given me so much, and it makes me feel so blessed."
Texas A&M Head Baseball Coach Rob Childress:
Opening statement:
"I am certainly proud of our team for being able to shake off yesterday and to come out and play the game. We played at an extremely high level. If you're a fan of baseball, most importantly pitching, to watch Preston Morrison and Matt Kent go at it, you put the radar gun down and appreciate what they have the ability to do. It's pretty special."
On Allemand's last at-bat:
"They had their guy on the mound and he's got blow-away stuff. You try to pick a pitch and put a ball in play and hopefully you can elevate it and get it to the outfield. Blake was able to do that."
On making the plays:
"We talked last week about the heroes and the guys who stepped up forward and done big things for us to be here this weekend."
In facing elimination games:
"I think the SEC prepares us for that and you'd better have a short memory going through this league because there are going to be days you play really well and you're going to lose. If you're worried about yesterday or last weekend, it's going to be a long schedule. Our guys have been able to do that all year long and they put yesterday to bed and focused on the only thing you have at hand, and that's today."
On Matt Kent:
"He continues to develop mentally and execute pitches. We have played better defense behind him. In the middle of the year he found himself back in the bullpen and I don't know if that was a product of his lack of executing pitches or us not playing great defense behind him. You have to field the ball behind Matt. He's going to get a lot of ground balls, and if you don't, he's gonna give up a hit-plus an inning and you can create some damage for him if we don't field the ball. We certainly have done that the last three weeks from him."
On Monday's game:
"It's all either team could ask for. You have nine innings for a chance to punch a ticket to Omaha. I would expect each team's very best and it should a lot of fun of the fans and certainly a lot of fun for our players and TCU's players. You couldn't ask for more that this."
Blake Allemand, Shortstop
On his last at-bat:
"We hadn't had a whole of success int he last couple of innings. Preston was throwing a great game. He was keeping the ball down so I didn't have many good at-bats. One good at-bat from me would end the game and I was looking for something I could get to the outfield, and I was able to put a good swing on the ball and put it into left field and we were able to score."
Emotion of coming up as a senior with game on the line:
"It was big. I'm not going to lie to you. I wanted to be at the plate in that situation. If there was anyone I could pick to be at the plate in that situation I would have picked myself. I have a lot of confidence in myself to get the job done and have a good at-bat. I embraced it and I was ready to put a good swing on the ball. I wasn't to have a good at-bat and put a good swing on it, and I was fortunate enough to hit the ball far enough into left that we were able to score."
In elimination game:
"We're not going to panic. We're going to keep coming. We don't play the scoreboard, we play the game. There wasn't a whole lot of panic when they scored a run in the ninth. We came back to put together good at-bats and we were able to scrape one across in the 10th."
Matt Kent, LHP
On TCU's offense:
"They couldn't bring the runs from yesterday into today, and I knew rouse my plan and attack and let the defense do their work behind me."
Three starts in less than 10 days:
Early I didn't feel like I had my greatest command. I gave up some hits, but I had some great defense behind me. As I went through the game, in the middle innings the command back. I was able to keep the velocity up and movement was a big key. As we got deeper into the game, the velocity started to fall away but my command stayed."
Confidence from pitching in last elimination game against Cal:
"I know every time I go out I have to let the defense work. I can't go out and blow it by people in any form or fashion. If I can get the defense involved early and keep them on their toes and then let the game take care of itself."
