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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPMay 22, 2014Daniel GossettJack LeggettJon McGibbonGREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA Clemson: 3 THE MODERATOR: Up on the dais with me is Clemson, Jon McGibbon, Steve Wilkerson and Daniel Gossett and Coach Jack Leggett. Coach? COACH LEGGETT: Really exciting ballgame. I thought Goose pitched his heart out again. He does it every single time he goes out on the mound. They put some good swings on him; they're a good hitting ball club. We played really good defense for the most part. We had some defensive problems we got ourselves out of. We got some big hits when he needed them, Jonny's big hit coming off the bench, about the 5th or 6th inning, was big for us and Stevie's big hit at the end. Couldn't be more proud of how our team battled. We battled extremely tough all game long got down 2, climbed back 2‑2, and I just had this feeling that ‑‑ we had the last at‑bat tonight and I had a feeling we were going to figure out something to win. Q. Last time you hooked up with Diaz it was a 1‑0 game. ACC co‑pitcher of the year. Does that give you any added emphasis on this game? DANIEL GOSSETT: Not so much. You know, every game is the same. I try and go out there and make quality pitches no matter what I'm facing. I did know he was going to put together a performance, so I knew I had to have my stuff and get out there and battle. I was just trying to make quality pitches. So nothing special, just quality pitches. Q. Jon, talk to us about coming off the bench and getting the run? JON McGIBBON: I just try to be there for my guys when they need it. Early on in the game, Diaz was getting his pitch count up and Coach called my number there in the 5th and 6th and I saw a couple of pitches and he laid it down the middle and I was able to hit the home run and tie it up. Q. You hit a home run against Florida State two years ago. Was that in your mind? JON McGIBBON: No, not really. I've been in that situation so many times throughout my career, it's about staying calm. When you're in those types of situations, you're not thinking anything, everything is blank. You're focusing in on the pitcher and doing whatever you can to help the team out. Q. Steve and Jon, it's fitting that the two biggest hits came from two seniors. Different feel tonight beating Miami for your postseason chances? STEVE WILKERSON: Coming into the game and coming into the tournament and being part of this class with Jonny we knew every game was going to be a battle tonight coming up against Miami, a really good ball club, a lot of good guys on that team, a lot of good friends on that team. We knew we had a challenge ahead of us, and being a senior it was really fun to pull that one out. Q. Jon, you guys are playing for a coach who won his 1300th game tonight. Obviously there has been a lot of talk recently in the media and some other folks. Talk to us about your coach. What kind of coach is he? JON McGIBBON: Congrats, by the way. He's our guy. He's our leader. He's our ultimate leader on the team. He gets us ready everyday for the games. You can't ask for a better coach. He's there with us every day. I'm sure if he wasn't 60 years old he would be out there playing with us, but we wouldn't want anybody else out there with us to win the games. Q. Coach, talk about being in the driver's seat to get the ACC championship game. It's all about tomorrow. Talk about that with this club. COACH LEGGETT: Talked about that after the game. It's a great and exciting game but we got to focus on tomorrow. This one will fade away quickly if we don't take care of business tomorrow. We gotta get our rest and get locked in. I like the way our team is competing more than anything else. It was a great game and to have that 1300th win with these guys. They have been with me for a long time, they've been in a lot of games, they've been a part of a lot of them. For Stevie to get the big hit and for Jonny to get the big hit, and Goose to pitch the way he did, it's awesome evening for us, and we've got to put it behind us andget the first one for the next goal, and that is ACC Championship. It was an exciting game, if you want a milestone game, this would be the way you want it to end. I will remember it for a long time. I thought Okey did a great job for us behind the plate and blocked a couple pitches late in the game, freshman catcher, competes hard and does a great job for us. And our relief pitchers, Clay Bates came in, did a great job for us. He was in a tough situation with a man on third base, 1 out, and we had to bring our infield in, and we had to make a big pitch on Palmer, who is one of the best hitters we have faced all year long, in my opinion, and a ground ball to another senior who hadn't been in the game very long, Mike Dunster gotta make a play, and Drew Moyer had to make a big pitch in the 9th inning to get that kid out, get Thompson out, and we did some good things along the way. Jay Baum's play up the middle was something you will see on TV later on tonight. It was an awesome play. Night full of great moments, competitive team and Miami has a good ball club. The thing we did today, I thought we had a good plan against Diaz, and he was a little off the mark a little bit. We didn't chase pitches, made him throwing a lot of pitches early in the game. We had opportunities early in the ballgame to get more runs and try and distance ourselves and make things easier on, ourselves but we weren't able to do that and but we hung in there and battled like heck all night long. Proud of my team. Q. Jack, have you decided who will go tomorrow? COACH LEGGETT: Still thinking about it, Clay Smith or Jack Erwin, one of those two. Q. In a tournament like that, starters going deep is so important. (No microphone.) DANIEL GOSSETT: I had to fight out there a little bit. Coach was ready to move to the pen and I have had 100% confidence in the bull pen but I wanted to get at least one more shot. I said let me get the first batter and let's see what happens. I think it was more of a pride thing I wanted to go back out and get a couple more outs for the team but it worked out, so I'm happy about it. By the same token, if I go out there and give up a missile like I had been doing the majority of the night, then I have to come in and face coach and tell him that one's on me. Q. Daniel, it looked like you had your best stuff out there and they were squaring some balls up but to deliver a performance like you did, what were the adjustments you made? DANIEL GOSSETT: They're a great‑hitting baseball team. I came out early in the inning and was leaving balls up and thank goodness the defense was on point tonight, you know we made a couple of huge plays that kept me out of trouble, and I was able to talk to Coach Pep a little bit and make pitches down in the zone. That's going to be the thing to do because this it team is a great hitting baseball team so you gotta keep the ball down in the zone. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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