Smoke Laval Quotes (27 Quotes)

It was a tough day to judge. We made some competitive pitches when we had to so I was very pleased. Today we had to fight through the elements, but that is one of the things you have to deal with this time of year.

They're a club that's always feisty and well-prepared. They seem to be on a really good roll right now.

Dirks took us late into the game and it was a good win.

Dirks pitched really well. He always goes out and gives you a good outing, but that rest may have helped him a bit. I thought he had more fastball and more life on his breaking ball than he did his last two outings. Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.

We could make the tournament, but I'm more concerned with how we're playing. We could play better baseball and still not do anything. Or we could play the same and get in the tournament. I want us to play better.

Early, we just smoked the ball great offensively but they were either line-drive outs or they would catch them and make a great play. But the guys didn't panic and kept getting their good swings off. I liked that most of all.

He was in the zone with three pitches. Even the one ball that was hit really shouldn't have been swung at. That was as good as I have seen him pitch.

They're a veteran team, they've played together for a while. They're good. They don't make mistakes.

He's got such a great attitude. It's like he never has a bad day.

I always thought he would hit in the middle of the lineup.

It's a tribute to the character of our club to come back and win this series. I'm very proud of the way the guys competed, and we hope we can build some momentum from this.

That's the best thing about it. We came up with the hits when we needed them. Now, maybe that will give us some momentum.

He is slowing the game down instead of having to hurry up and do things. He's comfortable. He caught up to those type of pitches in the summer leagues and so forth. I think now he subconsciously believes he fits into Division I baseball.

It was brutal. With the wind chill, the temperatures were in the 30s. We've got a lot of kids under the weather right now. I'm glad we won't be playing in those kind of conditions again.

We are still feeling our way. We are going to give (senior right-hander) Justin Meier a bullpen tomorrow or he may come in relief to get him ready.

This is a rebuilding year. But you can't say that around here. These new guys don't know any better. They don't realize we're usually doing better than this. It's the veterans we have to make sure aren't trying too hard.

We have been getting beat by a better ball club right now, and our guys are hurting. South Carolina is good, and they have been playing at their best right now.

You circle 'em up. That's the nature of the beast, especially in Baton Rouge. It starts with football, goes right through basketball and to baseball. You're expected to win every one. Until you experience it, with a lot of the younger guys, it happens too fast.

We were more opportunistic tonight than we have been in recent games. That was the key we took advantage of opportunities and we had some consistency at the plate.

Late in the game, when you get your best swings off, good things will happen.

You can't really judge pitching on a day like today because anything can get out of the park. If you swing the bat hard enough, good things will happen. That was our game plan today, to get quality swings that we didn't have last time.

He (Dirks) made some bad pitches to the good hitters and usually he does the opposite. He makes a mistake and it is usually a guy that is not a tremendous hitter. Kingsbury, who you know can hit, had a couple.

That gentleman from Vanderbilt, probably in three or four years, major leaguers aren't going to want to see him on a Friday night.

We're playing an Alabama club that's always feisty. They have a great Friday night guy and two others that take them deep into games, and they have a good closer.

It's how you win it -- with quality at-bats and a couple of arms coming through for us. Delivering a pitch when you had to or getting a fly ball when you have to, that's how. Every win is a great win for us, especially for this type of club to build on that momentum.

(Dirks) really didn't catch his groove until somewhere about the fourth inning. I think the fifth is the first time we had the first 1-2-3 inning. We needed it.

The good thing is he didn't panic, and he didn't rush to try to get people out. He let it happen after that. I was very impressed, not only with him but the pitching the whole time.