Thanks to 6.1 strong innings from Sam Highfill and a go-ahead home run from Jose Torres, NC State baseball beat Arkansas 6-5 Saturday to even the Super Regional and force a decisive game three.
Highfill and Torres spoke to the media after the win, here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say:
Sam Highfill
Coach Avent said that was probably the best game you’ve ever thrown. What did you think and what was really working for you today?
I don’t know about the best I’ve ever thrown, but that’s a heck of a compliment. I battled out there. It was tough with the heat. He mentioned that a few times. It was. But given the circumstances and situation and team we were playing against, it couldn’t have gone much better, I guess.
You retired 16 guys in a row after the home run to Welch. What was the key to recovering from that and getting into such a good groove?
Just a confidence thing, really. I had a lot of confidence, even after he hit that home run. Just go out and try to get ahead of hitters. That puts me in a lot better position later in the at-bat. I was able to do that for a couple of innings in a row.
It seems like each week the games and stakes get bigger. What’s it like to be on this ride?
It’s a lot of fun. You’re right. The games have gotten bigger each week. I just tried not to think about too many things that I can’t control, and just try to go out there and get outs.
Where were you one year ago from today?
On my Snapchat I got a one year ago memory, I was at the beach with my brother and his girlfriend. If you would have told me in a year from that day I would have been pitching in a Super Regional, I would have told you that you were crazy.
What is the confidence level like in the locker room?
Oh yeah, we absolutely believe we are going to win tomorrow. Yesterday wasn’t even down. Coach told us yesterday that we could either forget about it and move on or dwell on it, and that he’s not going to dwell on it and we didn’t either. That’s a big reason we were able to come out and win today.
How impressed were you with Evan Justice’s performance and how much does that fire you up to see him take the ball from you and do that?
Evan did what Evan does. He’s been like that for the last two or three months, however long he’s been pitching out of the bullpen. He’s been incredible. Everytime I give the ball up to him I know I’m in good hands, the team is in good hands.
What was your mindset heading into today and how were you able to block out Friday’s game and get the team back on track?
I don’t know. We’ve had games where we go out and score 20-plus runs, and then the next game is not always like that. It’s not like they’re automatically gonna come out and score 10 runs. I wasn’t too worried about that. I was just trying to make pitches and do what I can do.
Coach Avent said you had sweat pouring down your forearm, had to go to the rosin bag and couldn’t grip the curveball. Did you slow yourself down intentionally to get through that?
Yes. He said it, I like to pitch fast. Today might have been the slowest that I’ve ever pitched in my life. I don’t think I threw a curveball after Welch hit that two-run home run in the second inning. I don’t think I threw another one, and it’s basically because I couldn’t grip the baseball. It was pretty much fastball, changeup all day. I had to slow myself down a lot. I went to the rosin a lot. But it worked out.
You had them going after high fastballs. Was it something in the report that you thought you could take advantage of?
Yeah. They are a really good fastball hitting team, but we can also take advantage of that in two-strike counts with the fastball sometimes. That was part of the scouting report, but I don’t know. I didn’t really have any other pitches today, so it was good that I was able to throw the high fastball for a good pitch.
Jose Torres
Yesterday didn’t go well, but coach Avent said you guys were in as good of a mood at breakfast as you’ve ever been. How were you able to block out Friday’s game and do what you needed to do today?
Yeah, I felt like that was huge for us to come to breakfast and have, not a laid back mood, but a mood that we are here to play and here to compete and hopefully go to Omaha. We knew that that takes playing today. We were never going to dwell on yesterday, like coach said, and it worked out for us. We were us. We were us.
What did it mean to you for Evan to go out there and pick you up and get that last out after your error? And how much did it fire you up to see the way he went out there and attacked them and shut everyone down in the eighth and ninth inning?
That’s right. Unfortunately I made the error, but that happens in this game. We can’t just be perfect all the time. I just try to keep my head up. I didn’t want my teammates to see me with my head down. It could have messed everything up. But knowing Justice and how good of a competitor he is and the intensity he plays the game with, I knew even though I made an error he was going to pick me up. It was awesome to see him competing and competing with fire in his eyes and his demeanor. It was awesome.
How does the momentum of knowing that they are capable of taking down the No. 1 team in the NCAA fuel you into tomorrow’s game?
I just look back at breakfast and how we were after losing yesterday 21-2. We’ve battled all year. We started in league 1-8. We just decided to play for each other, play for Avent and play for everybody in our support group. We just come out here to play. It’s a game we’ve played our entire life. Today, tomorrow and however long we play together is going to be the same. We’re just going to come out and compete and hopefully come out with a win. We just love playing for each other.
What’s it like to experience the roller coaster of a game like that?
It’s awesome. Every aspect from the home run to making the error to getting the last out, you’ve got to soak it up. We came here to win, and every aspect of the game is huge for us. It’s awesome.
Is this the type of game and series you came to NC State to play in?
Yeah, 100 percent. I came to NC State to get my education, to meet great people but also win a championship. It takes one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time, one play at a time. It’s awesome.
Can you speak on your execution today with the bunts and contact plays?
Execution is big. Like Avent said, he said it best, they’ve got to be perfect. That’s not putting pressure on us, it’s putting pressure on the other team. The more perfect we are throughout the game and getting the little stuff done, the more pressure it’s going to add on to the other team. It’s huge when we are able to do that throughout the game. It helped us today.
You said this morning at breakfast that “we were us.” Was there something that caught your attention to let you know that you guys were going to approach this game professionally, like coach said?
From the moment I woke up. I’m rooming with Vojtech Mensik. He woke up, took a shower. He did his routine, what he does every day. Just seeing that and then going into breakfast and seeing everybody, you know, gather around each other and eating together, I just knew we were going to approach this game professionally and see where it takes us from there.
Was it easy to tell everyone was relaxed and calm?
100 percent. Everybody was smiling. Everybody was being themselves. We can’t dwell on the past. We can’t change yesterday. We can only change what happens today. Just from seeing everybody expressions and how they composed themselves throughout breakfast, there was a sense of everybody was laid back, there to do their job and win.
