Postgame Quotes – Michigan vs. UCLA
POSTGAME QUOTES
NCAA Los Angeles Super Regional – Game One
Michigan 3, UCLA 2 (June 7, 2019)
Michigan Head Coach Erik Bakich
Opening remarks
“I thought pitching, defense, timely hitting were some major storylines. Karl Kaufmann obviously gave us an outstanding start. I was hoping he was going to go the distance, but a couple infield hits and some trouble in the ninth. That doesn’t take away from just the excellent performance – outstanding job of generating ground ball contact, some swing and miss. That’s an outstanding [UCLA] offense over there. He just did a really, really good job. The defense we played behind him was solid and we obviously got the big two-out hit from Jesse [Franklin] off a guy like [Ryan] Garcia, who’s a terrific pitcher. It’s going to come down to a timely hit like that and we got that big hit by Jesse to knock in two runs. Then the insurance run, which turned out to be absolutely huge, with a one-out double by Ako [Thomas] and a sac-fly by Jordan Nwogu. Just some really good clutch hitting and just really proud of our guys [for] the way they battled and the way the held on there in the ninth. Jeff Criswell coming into a role he hasn’t been in all season to get the save, which was big time as well.”
On team’s fan support
“It’s the largest living alumni base in the world and there’s such a following in the state of California. 40,000 Michigan alums in the state of California, so we appreciate all of them for coming out. The alumni club of L.A. has been big and a big advocate for following our kids and showing them support. A lot of fans and a lot of Michigan faithful coming out to support our team, so it makes a difference. We hear them. We hear their chants. We hear their support. We feel it. It’s a tangible thing, so we really appreciate it.”
On decision to bring in Criswell to finish the ninth
“When we scripted out the game, we said if it’s close and we’ve got a lead, we’re going to go to Jeff. We just felt like he would give us the best chance.”
Michigan junior pitcher Karl Kauffmann
On rhythm with catcher Joe Donovan and what was working tonight
“It started out with the pace of the game. Ryan Garcia, heck of a game. It was kind of us – short turnarounds. That was nice [to] kind of stay on a rhythm there. I commanded the fastball on both sides of the plate. I was throwing the four-seam and the two-seam and just started to get some swings and misses and kept guys off-balance. I was throwing the slider away pretty effectively, tonight. Just being able to trust the defense and throw the ball over the plate to minimize walks and let them work. It was nice to get that two-run cushion in the third, too. It allowed me to be more aggressive and get after hitters.”
On ball that deflected off his glove in the ninth inning
“That play in the ninth, I was thinking it hit a little too slowly and I didn’t know where [the defense] was shifted. I should have turned around. I just kind of got a glove on it and it was on to the next pitch. I wasn’t thinking about it too much. I think the next at bat, I got a weak groundball to third base that could have done it, too. It’s just one of those ‘flukey’ things.”
On team’s fan support
“There were roughly 2,000 people here and I’d argue 1,000 of them were from Michigan, had the maize and blue on. That support – everywhere you go, the maize and blue shows up. Having the faithful always around is awesome. Love to see it.”
Michigan sophomore outfielder Jesse Franklin
On two-RBI single in the third inning off Garcia
“He’s a really good pitcher and we didn’t get to see him last time, but we were excited to see him this time. He throws a lot of pitches for strikes. He got ahead of me, but I just tried to get my foot down and see the ball. I was lucky enough to put the bat on the ball and put it in the right spot.”
UCLA Head Coach John Savage
Opening remarks
“(Karl) Kauffmann was outstanding. Threw the ball extremely well. Pretty much handled us the entire evening. Jarron (Silva) had a really good at bat there, leading off the ninth with a walk. We strung some at bats together. I think that was the only inning we ran up five guys all evening. He was really the story for us. Ryan (Garcia) was really good, too. Thought he threw the ball extremely well. Good first game. Had our chance at the end, but at the end of the game, they just made a few more pitches and had some better at bats. It’s on to tomorrow.”
On message to team going into ninth inning
“Like I said about two minutes ago, we didn’t do anything the first eight innings. Like Mike (Toglia) said, Kauffmann had a lot to do with that. He threw the ball extremely well, as did (Ryan) Garcia. It was a Super Regional game. Hell of a game and at the end of the day, like I said two minutes ago, they made more pitches and they had some better at bats.”
On confidence level knowing team has been in same situation before
“We’ve been in this situation a few times all season long. It’s best two out of three. They got us tonight and it’s our job to come back out tomorrow ready to play. We won 51 games for a reason. There’s a lot of trust and confidence in that clubhouse and belief. Our backs were against the wall a little bit last week and certainly it is this weekend. But not unexpected. In 2013, it was three games and then two games and then four games. It just doesn’t usually go that way. We’re prepared for blows and we practice it in a lot of ways, mentally, and really physically. This team knows how to bounce back and we have another opportunity tomorrow.”
UCLA junior infielder Michael Toglia
On his two-run single in ninth off Kauffmann
“First of all, he’s phenomenal. He pitched the ball down the entire game. Didn’t make really any mistakes. And so when the ball’s down like that, he’s really hard to square up. I was fortunate enough to get one up in that last at bat and I put a good swing on it.”
UCLA junior pitcher Ryan Garcia
On Jesse Franklin’s second at bat against him
“On that second at bat, I think we went a couple fastballs early. He ended up staying with the changeup and, you know, base hit to right field. Tip my cap to him. Made a mistake and he took advantage of it.”