DUGOUT REPORT: Avent, Highfill, Murr on win over Louisiana Tech
Thanks to 5.1 scoreless innings from Sam Highfill and four hits from Austin Murr, NC State baseball topped Louisiana Tech 8-3 Saturday night to advance to the Ruston Regional final.
Highfill, Murr and Elliott Avent spoke to the media after the victory, here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say:
Elliott Avent
How happy are you with the pitching performances you’ve gotten on the first two days of the regional?
You all have watched us the last two or three months, I don’t know how long the stretch has been. Those five guys have that y’all know so well have probably pitched 80 percent of our innings. It’s uncanny that it’s worked out like this. With those few guys that we’re pitching right now, you have to take advantage of every game and win that game that they’re in. So far they’ve done an unbelievable job, and our team has done an unbelievable job defensively, running the bases. We put a lot of pressure on other teams with our athleticism and the way we run the bases. It was a great game that we played tonight against a really, really, really, really good team in an electric atmosphere. It’s emotionally draining on our pitchers to pitch in that kind of atmosphere. I think we pulled Sam at 90 pitches, but he had some tough innings and that adds up. We brought Justice in a little earlier than we sometimes like, but we felt like it was the right time and he finished the game in great fashion.
What does it say about your offense that you can score eight runs with five home runs one night and then eight runs without a home run the next night?
It’s what I said earlier with the athleticism and the way that our team can beat you in so many different ways. This is a great place to play. This is a great regional and Louisiana Tech is a great baseball team, trust me. Their fans are not only good fans who support their team, you heard how loud it was in there tonight, but they’re good baseball fans. You don’t know how many people I had come up to me on the way back to the bus and when we got back to the hotel talking about how good of a ballclub we are, the way we run the bases and take advantage of situations. Just what you said. Obviously the ball leaves this ballpark. The wind was blowing in. The rain that we had this afternoon brought the wind, and it blew in from the south. It was hard to leave the ballpark. But obviously as it got a little still later on at night they hit a couple long balls. They’ve got a really good team. Our team is capable of beating you in different ways, and that’s what makes us so good.
What is it about Sam Highfill that makes him not a freshman anymore and lets you trust him in these big games?
Sam’s maturity has always been good. He’s just a very mature young man. All of our guys have thrown through the year. You grow through COVID. You grow through things. Baseball is a game of adjustments. If you’re not capable of making adjustments, if you’re not capable of being thick-skinned and getting through the ACC atmosphere in Charlotte, it was unbelievable, and you saw this place tonight. But you heard this atmosphere tonight. I don’t know if I’ve been in another atmosphere as electric as this since TCU.
What type of enthusiasm does it generate to see a guy like Jonny Butler beat out an infield hit and hustle down the line?
I think it means more to the other team. It’s expected on our team. We run the bases hard. We know we have team speed. We run every play hard. If you talk about the play that may have really, I’m not saying won the game, but what a big play that was when Jonny beat out that chopper to the first baseman and McDonough scores from second. Those are the things, running hard every time to first base and running hard first to third, that’s what puts pressure on the other team. Then obviously you can see how Louisiana Tech is. They didn’t make an error all night. They’re just a solid, solid ballclub.
How do you approach the regional final and do you think your kids have that get it done now approach?
I know they’re gonna come out. They come out and play every game. These guys have been so remarkable. I’ve loved all 25 teams that I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to coach here at NC State, but this team reminds me so much of the team I had the first year I was here. It’s a small group of guys, committed to one another. They love the game. They play hard and play for the love of the game and the fun of it. They’ll come out and play hard tomorrow, but they’ve got to play well because it’s two very good teams left here in Ruston, Louisiana.
How are you feeling about taking the momentum from the last two games into the regional final?
The thing I’m most concerned about is that I want them to get rest. You’re so keyed up after a game like that, that it takes me a long time to unwind and close my eyes. These guys are younger and used to staying up a lot longer than I am. The game got pushed back, I think it was two hours that it got pushed back. So, we went to the ballpark at 4 o’clock. We were there four hours before the game was played. And then like I said, it was an electric atmosphere and that’s draining. They just need to get some rest, go through their routines tomorrow and come out ready to play because we’re going to face a really good baseball team in either La. Tech or Alabama.
Austin Murr
Is there a conscious approach that you take as a leadoff hitter?
I think it’s a unique position with how deep our lineup is to really set the table. We had production all night from guys throughout the lineup. Everybody throughout the year has had a big hit here or there. I’m just trying to do my job, whether it’s to see a few pitches or get the pitch I want right away, to just set the table, get it started and get as much information as I can to my teammates.
What was the energy of the crowd like? When you guys jumped them early, did you think that took some wind out of their sails?
It definitely did not take the wind out of their sails. It was a pretty awesome environment all night. It’s what you dream of. It’s why you play college baseball, for environments like that. It was a lot of fun to play in front of that crowd and we’re looking forward to it tomorrow.
Jonny Butler had a lot of hits and did well, but on groundout to short, he almost made it a bang-bang play hustling down the line. What kind of juice does that give a team when you see that?
Everything he does, whether it’s running out to his position, any single ground ball, fly ball, anything, that kid gives 100% in everything he does. He gets rewarded with being the batting champ. It’s no coincidence, I’ll say that. He puts attention to detail into everything he does and is definitely someone I try and mold my game around, try to be like Jonny Butler.
How much of a lift have the pitchers been giving the team in this regional?
It’s incredible. The amount of confidence we have in those guys, the starters, the pen guys, everybody plays a huge role, even the guys on the bench. We feed off their energy. It’s been really important. It’s been a big piece whether we’re down in games, there’s games we’ve had to fight back, games we’ve gotten ahead early and stayed ahead. It’s just the confidence, we know that they’re going to make pitches. They pitch with pace and it helps defensively too.
You guys scored eight runs yesterday with five home runs, today you scored eight without leaving the ballpark. What does it say about this team that you can do it in both ways?
One through nine, we’re a pretty versatile group. We can run, we can hit, we can bunt. [Luca Tresh] and [Devonte Brown] are the two outs on the top of my head that if the wind wasn’t kind of howling in tonight, we probably would have had a few, they probably would have had a few as well. But it’s just good swings at good pitches and trying to hit line drives. If they go out, they go out. But I think we had 14 hits tonight, to be able to do that with that type of team in that type of environment is pretty much all you can ask for.
You had two runs and four hits today. How are you feeling about your personal offensive performance, the team’s offensive performance and going into the regional final tomorrow?
Great. I think the last month or so probably hasn’t gone as well as I would have liked to at the plate, but in the last two days, you kind of just get back in the lab almost and change a few things, be a little looser with my hands. I felt pretty tense up there, so just starting to breathe a little bit more, take big deep breaths and start hitting my fast balls and getting pitches that I want. From a team aspect, we’ve got confidence in all our guys. After the game on Sunday, we spent a lot of time working on, whether you’re sitting fastball or sitting off, getting the pitch toyu want and spitting on everything else. Obviously the first two days, we’ve gotten great results from it and tried not to get stuck in between the two pitches. I think we’ve done a great job of that so far. We’ve got to keep doing that and keep having that patience at the plate.
We were sitting in the press box and it looked like during the game you had a donut on the bat situation, is that correct?
Yeah, the donut on my bat before my last warmup swing went down to my hands and then I still took a practice swing and it whipped all the way to my barrel. It was on there pretty good. I had to use [J.T. Jarrett]’s bat, which was, I think, the only bat I got out tonight. So I’m going to have J.T. get rid of that bat, because it’s out of hits, but it was something that never happened before. It was kind of funny.
Sam Highfill
Does pitching college still feel new to you?
That’s a good question. Sometimes it doesn, like tonight, with the atmosphere, it felt like I was a freshman. I’d never pitched in an atmosphere like that. Charlotte was good last week, but those were all NC State fans, so to have the whole crowd cheering against you, I enjoyed it. The atmosphere was great. So starts like that, I do feel sometimes more like a freshman, but also, I have that knowledge that I can get these guys out.
What is it about you that you can get NC State to these big games? How much does it mean to you to know that you’ve done that?
It’s a good feeling. I basically just try to go out and execute pitches all day. The last few starts, I’ve been able to do that for the most part. I didn’t even feel great with all of my stuff today, but the defense was able to get it done behind me. Credit to the coaching staff, they put together a good game plan.
Is this why you came to NC State, to pitch in these games?
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I grew up an NC State fan, so I’ve watched some heartbreak in the past. I came here thinking that maybe I’d get a chance to pitch in those games and kind of turn that around. So it’s been fun so far.
When you have a situation where your team is raking, what type of juice does that give you on the mound?
It’s much easier to pitch with the lead. They were able to do that tonight. We got one in the first and two more in the third and fourth. The lineup’s been hitting the ball well lately, so it makes it easier to pitch.
How were you able to settle in and get deep into the game after the long first inning?
Early in the game I was struggling to get a grip on the ball sometimes. It was really humid out there tonight. The first inning kind of got to me. After that I went in and dried my arms off and everything. After that I was pretty much able to command back for the most part. That was huge. I was able to get quicker outs in the second, third and fourth innings and go from there.
How much does it fire you up to see Evan Justice come in and get the guys out for you?
It’s awesome. I was a little bit upset. I wanted to get those last two outs. But if somebody is going to come in, I want it to be Evan Justice. He did a great job tonight again.
Can you walk me through your mindset of going strong into the sixth inning after you got settled?
Yeah, it’s just a confidence thing. The first inning maybe a little bit of jitters, but after that I had all the confidence in the world that if I could just make pitches than I could get these guys out and my defense would have my back. And they did.