SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

May 26, 2021

Will Heflin

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium

Tennessee Volunteers

Postgame Press Conference

Alabama 3, Tennessee 2

THE MODERATOR: Thanks for joining us, Will. If you could, just open it up with a quick statement.

WILL HEFLIN: That was a classic, grind it out, SEC game, really good competition. That team played to the last pitch, and we did too. Unfortunately, we came out on the bottom end of that. So we need to figure out a way to get another shot at them. Right now we're just focused on next game.

Q. I guess what did you see on that play, that slide with Max at the end of the game? Have you been able to see a replay of that yet? What was your thoughts of that play in general?

WILL HEFLIN: I'm not an umpire. I'm just going to take the route of that's the call that was made, so we deal with that. Based on the replay that was on the scoreboard, I really didn't get a great look at it.

Q. When did you find out you were going to be the guy today, and how do you feel the outing was for you?

WILL HEFLIN: On Sunday, Coach V texted me and said, you've got the ball Game 1. Any time I get a chance to go out there, I'm going to give it my best bolt and never going to turn that opportunity down. Had a couple days to prepare for it. I thought it went well overall, gave us a chance to win.

Q. I guess what were your thoughts on sort of what was working today? Other than a couple spots here and there, it looked like you were pretty sharp.

WILL HEFLIN: Yeah, I had good command of my fastball early on, and I was able to land the off-speed, which is always a big -- it's necessary for me to have success. That's kind of the way it went, and they hit a couple balls right at us, and they played really sharp on defense behind me the whole day.

And I didn't expect anything less. This team comes into this atmosphere, and it's what we thrive on, and we're really looking forward to it. It burns a little bit that we came out on the bottom end, but I thought we played really well.

Q. What kind of response do you expect tomorrow from the guys? Typically, when you all have lost some of these SEC Friday night games, you've typically bounced back Saturday and been okay. What kind of response do you expect tomorrow?

WILL HEFLIN: Yeah, we got Chad Dallas on the bump, so that tells you everything you need to know. I think you're going to see a determined team per usual tomorrow.

Q. What was the message from the coaches after the game? You all have a quick turnaround for tonight.

WILL HEFLIN: That's how you have to approach it while you're playing, and then when the last pitch is thrown, you've immediately got to flush whatever happened. If you win, you can't sleep on a win. If you lose, you've got to be that much more ready for the next one tomorrow.

Q. When you think about a guy like Connor, he's got that busted hand and he's still out there playing. I think he had a bloody nose during the game, which you don't see very often, and he's still out there getting big hits and making big plays. What are your thoughts on just everything you've seen from him?

WILL HEFLIN: He kind of embodies the culture, right? He's a warrior, and I know he doesn't feel good out there. It affects every throw he makes and every swing he takes, but he's battling out there, and he's putting together good ABs and being a grinder behind the plate as always.

Q. There's not a ton of NCAA experience on this team or postseason experience on this team. Is there any positive from kind of seeing a bunch of craziness thrown at you in your first postseason game this year?

WILL HEFLIN: Yeah, any time you come to the park, you're liable to see something you've never seen before. There were a couple of instances today where that was definitely the case for me, and I'd imagine for a lot of other people. But kind of getting that first taste for a lot of guys, and it was my first time pitching in the SEC tournament, it was a really good experience overall. From here on, we're just trying to fight and stay in this thing.

Kind of got that one out of the way, and looking forward to tomorrow.