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COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 20, 2019JT GinnChris LemonisJake MangumOmaha, Nebraska Louisville - 4, Mississippi State - 3 CHRIS LEMONIS: Great college baseball game. Tip your hat to Louisville. They got a couple big hits there late. But really proud of our guys, the way they played, the way they have fought all year long. It's just a tremendous group of kids that we just would never quit. That's kind of how you had to beat us on the last swing, because our guys just have that never-die attitude. That's all I've got. Q. Jake, I know the game just finished, but how do you put your career there into perspective, and also just how fun was this run for you guys? JAKE MANGUM: Look, first off, I've been very fortunate for the last four years. God has been very, very good to me for those four years, and they were the best four years of my life. Mississippi State baseball, it's literally a part of me, you know. I hate it ended this way, but it is what it is. I absolutely hate it for the guys. I really do. Q. JT, to build a little bit off of that, as a younger guy in this program, what has the guy sitting next to you meant to this program and to the younger guys on the team, and the same goes for some of the other departing players on this team who have won three or four regionals now in a row and accomplished so much here? JT GINN: I mean, I think Jake's legacy speaks for itself, but what he's been able to do for the program at Mississippi State is truly unbelievable, and he's one of the best to ever put on the maroon and white. Like he said, Mississippi State, when you play there, it becomes a part of you, and the way that it ended, it definitely does suck. But that's the thing about Mississippi State, we'll be back. We win, and that's part of the tradition, and we'll be back. Q. Jake, you've seen this team grow over the last few years. This is a team you're not going to be a part of next year, but what's your thoughts on what you're leaving behind and the guys that are coming up behind you? JAKE MANGUM: In any adversity, you just want to leave the jersey better than when you picked it up. My freshman year, I came in with 16 guys. Five of them are left - four pitchers and I'm the only position player. We told each other we were going to bring the first -- help bring the first National Championship to Mississippi State. It didn't work out, but man, we fought like hell for four years. Man, those four years were crazy. You know, it's just -- baseball is like life. I've said that forever. Baseball is like life, it's not going to go the way you want it to, but how you respond to it is going to be good, and we've got a lot of guys that are going to respond to this very well. The guys coming back next year, they're going to get after it in the fall, and they're going to be ready to go in February in front of the best fan base in the country. It's not a debate. Come to a super regional in Dudy Noble. I was very fortunate to be a part of it for four years. I want to thank Coach Lemonis. Thank you for everything. You're going to bring the first National Championship to this baseball program. You are. And it's going to be awesome. I can't wait to see it. You will. Q. JT, it's the first time you've pitched in a while. 81 pitches, six shutout innings. How were you feeling tonight? The velocity looked a little down, how did your outing go? JT GINN: I felt fine, I guess. I just tried to go out there and compete and make pitches when I needed to, and the defense played great behind me, and Dustin Skelton he called a hell of a game tonight, and he made a bunch of big plays for me. I felt fine, though. JAKE MANGUM: College baseball is evolving. It is. You know, for four years, I just want to let everyone know, it's time for a third paid assistant head coach -- assistant coach in college baseball. There's a million people averaging watching this game. There's 30,000 people in that stadium. This is my second time to Omaha. It's time. This game is evolving. It's growing. Every year it keeps getting bigger. In this dugout, on that field, there was 27 players on each team. You start off with 35, you come with 27. Of those 35, there's 11.7 on each team on scholarship. Like man, this game is getting way too big for that. These were the best four years of my life, and it's time to adapt with that. Every year we've had assistant coaches that have not been paid who spend hours upon hours upon hours doing all they can for our program, sleeping in the offices, scouting for us, dealing with camps. Come on, man. Go out there and watch that game. There's 30,000 people in that stadium. A million people watching it. Come on. It's time to change. It really is. Thanks, y'all. CHRIS LEMONIS: That's a little bit extra that makes him special. He cares about it, though, that's why he says it. Q. Chris, you could probably do like a 30-minute speech on what Jake has meant to Mississippi State, but just in your short time of getting to know him, what has he meant to you and what has he meant to this program? CHRIS LEMONIS: You know, about a year ago I got the job, probably to a day or two, and he's been my lean-on guy the whole time. When you're coaching a group that's had four head coaches in four years, you've got to be careful because they've had so much transition and so much everything. He's been a great help to me in running the program. Not just getting hits during games or making great plays, whatever it is, but it's his day-to-day. He cares so much for our program. I've never seen -- he is very loved by our fans, but he gives to our fans. He never turns away an autograph. He never -- there's days he's stayed two hours, three hours. There was a night when he set the SEC record: He stayed for four hours signing autographs. The give-back of this kid is huge. Not only is he a great player. I mean, you see that every day. But who he is is special. Q. To have Jake, a guy that you've called repeatedly Mississippi State through and through tell you after just one year with him that you're going to bring the first baseball National Championship to this program, how much does that mean to you? CHRIS LEMONIS: Well, it's -- I told the guys after the game, because our goal has been a National Championship, and I told them we didn't win it this year, but when we do, it'll be because of the Jake Mangums and the Elijah MacNamees and the Cole Gordons. For him to say that I know he has a trust in our coaching staff, but I also think he has a trust in our program. We're scratching and fighting and we feel like we'll get back here and take care of it. But very nice words. I feel lucky to be able to coach Jake Mangum or Ethan Small or Dustin Skelton, just some really special kids. Q. JT comes out after the sixth inning, I think 80 pitches or so. Was that just kind of a caution after him not pitching for three weeks? What was the decision there, and was there any thought of sending him back out for the seventh? CHRIS LEMONIS: We came into the game thinking five innings or 75 pitches, and he was a little more efficient so we went to 80. He's pitched at about 80 all year long if you look at his numbers. Maybe twice or three times he's gone over 80. Because of the last couple weeks, we had set that predetermined before the game. As big as this is, it's not bigger than JT's career, so the player always comes first. Q. Chris, how much confidence did you have in the bullpen turning things over to him after JT's outing? CHRIS LEMONIS: Man, our bullpen has been awesome. Jared Liebelt, Cole Gordon, they have been awesome on this run that we've been on. Things just didn't go our way, so it just -- just part of the game. And tip your hat to Louisville. They got big hits. They got really big hits when they had to get big hits, and they just kept fighting, too. I've been a part of that program. I know how hard they work. I know their leadership. I know the type of players and they weren't gonna stop either. It was just two really competitive teams getting after it tonight. Thanks to everybody, all our media. All our national media but really our local media. You guys are awesome, and to our fans. I know they're crushed, but we'll be back. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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