Thanks to home runs from Jose Torres and Jonny Butler and a perfect final two innings from Evan Justice on the mound, NC State baseball is going to Omaha for the first time since 2013.
Torres, Butler and Justice spoke to the media after the Pack’s 3-2 win over Arkansas, here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say:
Jose Torres
What were you looking for on your home run?
All day, the game plan going into the game with a pitcher like [Kevin Kopps], he throws a lot of cutters. I was pretty much sitting on cutters all day. I just got off the phone with my Dad, he was talking about ‘He kept throwing you the same pitch and the same the same pitch and you were on it.’ I was just sitting on the cutter, looking for something up and I got it. I was able to put a good swing on it and hit a home run.
You’re from Baltimore, what’s it like being the only kid from Baltimore in the College World Series?
It’s awesome. Baltimore, it’s crazy. There’s a lot of good players over there. This is just awesome, to be the first. It’s an awesome feeling.
You guys come into the game and hear so much about Kevin Kopps and his ability. How much did it help to get two hits in the first inning?
He’s a phenomenal competitor, a phenomenal pitcher. He’s the best of the best when it comes to college baseball pitching. I give credit to Joey Hart and our coaching staff. They had a plan for us. We stuck to it, we trusted them and we were able to compete with a pitcher like him.
What was your emotion like when you were running the bases after hitting that home run?
At the moment, you’ve got to soak it up. It’s a feeling you’ll never forget until you die. It was awesome to experience that. At the moment I was rounding the bases, I was just focused We’ve still got to add more runs because the offense is really great, and then we’ve got to play defense and get three outs. I just had to soak it up in the moment and then lock in to finish the game.
Yesterday you were talking about the difference in the feeling after game one and game two. Anytime you go to Omaha it’s going to be special, but what does it feel like knowing you were the guy to get that winning run?
It makes that 100 times more special. I made the error yesterday and we could have thrown the whole game away, but just knowing that my team trusted in me, most of the guys came up to me and were like ‘I know you’re going to make it up. You’re one of the best in the nation that I’ve seen, so just from your character I know you’re going to make it up. I’m happy I was able to do that today.
How does it feel to go from the adversity at the start of the season to going to Omaha?
It feels awesome. It was something we talked about before the season even started in the fall when we all got together. We just took it from there. We just rolled in, stuck to each other and this is a feeling you’ll never forget.
What did you see from your teammates on the mound?
That was awesome. Those are the guys that came in when the summer started, those are the guys that built chemistry from the beginning coming into NC State. So just to see them go out there and compete and give their all was awesome. I couldn’t ask for better teammates to compete with and to be with on the baseball field.
You play with such emotion, how much do you feed off coach Avent’s emotion?
Avent’s the best. That guy doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves, because you guys don’t see the time he puts in with his players, how much he cares for his players. He’s the best. Just to see a guy that goes 100% for his players makes it easier for us to play for him. He’s awesome. I couldn’t say it any better.
Jonny Butler
All the talk from a national standpoint was about Kevin Kopps. You hit him really hard in the first inning and hit the home run in your next at-bat, how good did that feel?
It was unbelievable. He’s an incredible pitcher, an incredible competitor. Hats off to him. He pitched so well. Our focus, we had a focus on him from the first day. We didn’t know when we were going to see him. So we had a good scouting report. Coach did a really good job on that. I was able to piece a couple balls together and get one out of there. It felt really good.
What does it mean to go from starting 4-9 to heading to Omaha?
It feels unbelievable. We knew we were good enough. We knew we were one of the best teams in the country and we had a chance. Some things needed to go right. Two days in a row, one-run ball games. Those can always go either way. We just kept fighting and working. It just feels so great.
Coach Avent has always described this team as a resilient team, looking back at where you guys started this season and this series, what does that say about the character of this team and the determination of this team?
It says everything. Our guys, everybody wants it so bad, want it for themselves, want it for each other, want it for these coaches, want it for the staff that works so hard each and every single day. Our goal is world series all the way, and this is the first step to it, getting to Omaha. It just feels so great.
How loose were you guys going into this game?
This is where we wanted to go. We wanted to be able to play against the best and beat the best. We’ve got a bunch of older guys that everybody stays composed. I don’t think anybody was fazed by this crowd and they were a really great crowd. They were loud. They weren’t disrespectful or anything. They had some good chirps, but it was just a great place to be and play.
What does it say about this team to have two freshman pitchers go out and do what they did?
It’s more so about their mindset. They’re locked in. They can stay. We all knew they were good. We’re going to continue to get good players. They do an unbelievable job recruiting here, but what speaks volumes is just those guys’ attitudes on just nothing fazes them. They were unbelievable all weekend.
You talked about having a great scouting report on Kopps. How do you hit his cutter?
When he’s on and when he gets the good pitch and gets some good spin on that thing, you can only hope to foul it off. I was lucky enough, I think one of his backed up on him a little bit. When he’s on, there’s not much you can do. You just hope to fight it off. Take a lot of pitches, see a lot of pitches, hopefully try to get him out of the game. We know he can go for 130, 140 pitches, but everything worked out.
Evan Justice
Coach Avent that he doesn’t normally like to put you in a tied game, but if this team was going to beat us, they’re going to beat our best. For you to be in there and see Jose hit that home run, what was the emotion like?
In between innings, I just asked those guys to give me one run. And I was going to go out there and give them my best, give them everything I had to try and put this team to Omaha. So I knew our offense could do it, and Jose came in clutch.
What’s the key to you being able to pitch on back-to-back days?
The support staff here at NC State’s unbelievable. Scott Ensell, our trainer, does an amazing job helping our pitchers and everybody just get ready to go, addressing any health things anybody needs or with me, just helping me bounce back the next day. But I just wanted to go out there today. Game three of the Super Regional, nothing was going to hold me back from going out there.
What does it mean to this group to go from the early-season adversity to Omaha?
I’m just so proud of our guys. Everybody talks about that we didn’t get off to the start we wanted to, but that didn’t faze us. We stuck to what we do, working hard, never quitting and like I said, I’m just so proud of the guys.
What type of mindset does it take to close games out?
I think that just comes with being a competitor. I love being out there, especially in those high-pressure situations. That’s when it’s most fun to me. I was glad I got the call and glad I was able to get the job done. Our offense came through in the ninth.
What’s the feeling like after the final out?
It’s honestly hard to remember. It’s one of those unbelievable feelings that it’s honestly hard to say. I don’t really have any words. But I’m just proud of the guys. We achieved one of our goals, but we’re not done yet.
To have three freshmen pitchers come in, how difficult is that and how impressed are you by what those three guys did?
Those guys were great. [Matt Willadsen] and [Chris Villaman] did an unbelievable job today. They came out there and competed their butts off. They did a great job in putting me in a very fortunate situation to come into a tied ball game in the eighth and then be able to finish it out.
