NC State head coach Elliott Avent, alongside OF Rett Johnson and LHP Ryan Marohn, met with the media to discuss the 4-2 win over Boston College.

HC Elliott Avent

Opening statement...

I just, it's good to see us play good, I thought we played good, and a lot of them. I don't think we played well in any dimension on Tuesday. Luke Hemric came in with a lot of confidence and attacked his own; that was the only bright spot I saw all day.

But today we did a lot of things well. We ran the base as well, our picks were good, our throws, hitting the cuts, butts, and playing the small game. Fraas with a big play, Rett beats out a couple of infield hits. 

I mean, that game, if you look at it 4-1, and you're like, who hit the, Bonn I know Luke had the back side, which I don't understand how they went through that win, it was good for Luke, he laid down a bunt hit, and then he hits one out of the middle on a day you shouldn't be able to do that, and played good, we just played good.

I mean, it's just, it's good to play good and feel like you think you're going to get better, and then when you get a win on top, it's still, it would be somewhat positive if there were a loss involved here, but getting a win and playing this well, because I thought their guy threw extremely well, I thought he was outstanding, I thought he threw really well, and so did Marohn, Marohn was really good.

Speaking of, he missed his start last week. You see him come back out today and throw well.

Well, he missed his start last week because it's a long season, and he probably could have thrown like this last week, but I just wasn't going to take a chance, felt a little something in his bicep, and it's too early in the season, if it had been later in the season, he would have pitched, and he wanted to, but I'm just a very cautious man, I didn't pitch Carlos Rodon in Florida, in the region at one time, and he about punched me, because I wanted to put him back in there after about a two and a half hour lightning delay, when he was mowing Florida down.

And I wanted to pitch Joey Devine one time in Miami to go to the World Series when we were up like eight to four, and Joey was screaming at me, but the trainer said his elbow was barking, and I'm a very cautious person when it comes to not only players, but their career, and it worked out okay for Joey, and it worked out okay for Rodon, so I hope it works out good for Rodon.

And then Ryan said he went back to what he did last year for this, pitching and approach note, did you notice a difference in him today?

Oh, I thought he was totally different today than he'd been all season.

Yeah.

I thought he was totally different.

Rett said there was a little bit more emphasis on playing Tuesday, do you feel like that's doing a little better?

Well, I've said it for like four months now, so I don't know, we'll see, but I've talked about not being a one-dimensional, I don't believe you can be a one-dimensional in any sport and be successful unless you just got the best players and nobody can stop you. 

They say the Green Bay Packers used to run the Power Sweep left and the Power Sweep right with, what was it, Jim Ryan and Paul Hornung, I believe, and Bart Starr in the center, but so maybe it's possible, but being one-dimensional isn't a good idea to get in any sport, but yeah, we got to figure out how to play this game.

How important is Rett's speed on the basis for you guys, especially like an outfielder?

It's important by all those other teams, but his energy is more important. Players love him, the energy he plays with, how he fights off two-strike pitches, the intensity in which he plays the game, the love for the game, that's probably as big as his speed. 

OF Rett Johnson

On the win against Boston College

Yeah, it was fun. 

On using his speed as a weapon...

I try to use it as much as I can. Just put pressure on defense. Just play my game. 

On trusting the coaching staff to get more reps...

Yeah, I mean, it feels good having them trust me. But I think, I mean, I've had some success. And I want the team to win. And I'm trying my best to help them win.

On regaining momentum from the Elon loss...

Oh, I mean, it feels good. This win felt really good for us. The morale in the locker room was up when we got back in there. It was just something we needed.

I felt like you guys were able to kind of manufacture some more runs today. Small ball type stuff. Was that kind of a point of emphasis coming into this one?

Oh yeah, it was. We worked on it all week. After that game on Tuesday. And we got a lot better at it.

Did you feel like the execution was... 

Yeah, we executed a lot better. 

LHP Ryan Marohn

Ryan, what was it like for you to get back out there today, the way you did?

It felt good. I took last week off, obviously, and, no, it just felt good to be back out there. The team played great; it was a good win.

Is there anything you did differently this week, kind of coming off an open week for you, not this week?

Yeah, actually, so I've made some mechanical changes in the ball, and I went back to how I pitched last year. I felt like our command was a little bit off the first couple starts, and I felt like I had to get back and throw more strikes and everything, command the off-field pitches better. So I just went back to how I was pitching last year, just loose, and felt relaxed out there, and I think that led to good results.

What was the biggest change in that? What did you change originally that you just undid?

So I was trying to fully supinate, and I was working on a sweeper. And it didn't really work out well; it was more just a true slider. And since I was trying to do that, I lost feel for my changeup. So today, I just went back to normal, felt for the slider and for the changeup. And I think having a feel for that changeup and command of it led to a lot more success. 

What was it like in your first conference action in the season?

I mean, it's great. It's good to start a conference game, conference season, I guess, 1-0. Boston College, great team. They had a good weekend last weekend, and they came out ready to play as well. So I tip my cap to them. They were ready, they're well coached, they're great players. But we played well too, and I think that led to a good win. 

Were you a little more motivated coming out today after the result last Friday? 

I wouldn't say I was more motivated. I try to keep the same headspace every time I go out there. It was really just go out there, attack the zone, and trust the guys behind me. And the defense, Bonn, Lanphere, both caught really well. All the guys behind me made some great plays, so it's a good team win.

What was it like for you? I think in the sixth, it was a 2-2 count, and you landed a breaking ball to kind of strike out the last guy. What was that moment like for you?

It was good. I was actually on the same page, because I think we went two or three changes before, and maybe a fastball. He hadn't seen the curveball yet that I bet, so I feel like if I was able to land it or get it below the zone, I could get either a take or a swing and miss. And I was able to execute, and it led to a strikeout.