Saturday, June 10
College Station
5:00 PM
Texas A&M
41-21
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6
Davidson
35-26
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8
9
R
H
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Texas A&M
0
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Davidson
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Photo by: Russell James/Texas A&M Athletics
Omaha Bound! Baseball Rallies to Clinch World Series Berth
Jun 10, 2017 | Baseball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M Aggies made a late charge Saturday evening on Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park to dispatch of the Davidson Wildcats, 12-6, and earn their sixth College World Series appearance.
Trailing 6-2 going into the top of the eighth, things looked bleak for the Aggies. Nick Choruby gave the Aggies some life with a leadoff single to centerfield and with one out, Braden Shewmake reached on a fielding error by shortstop Max Bazin. Hunter Coleman roped a double to left-center knocking in Choruby and driving Davidson starter Evan Roberts from the contest. Reliever Austin Leonard plunked Cole Bedford with a pitch to fill the bags with Ags and Blake Kopetsky slapped a single up the middle to knock in two runs and cut the Wildcats' lead to 6-5. After Walker Pennington swung and missed at strike three for the second out of the inning, George Janca was issued a seven-pitch walk to reload the bases.
The Aggies sent pinch-hitter Jorge Gutierrez to the mound and Davidson responded with a pitching change, bringing in Barry Allen. Allen got Gutierrez to pop up behind the mound, but second baseman Alex Acosta was unable to hang on to the ball after being leveled by third baseman Eric Jones. Texas A&M scored two runs on the miscue to take a 7-6 lead and in his second at-bat in the frame, Choruby bounced a two-run single up the middle to inflate the cushion to three runs.
Pennington put the dagger in with a three-run home run to leftfield in the top of the ninth.
Texas A&M (41-21) broke the scoring seal in the top of the third inning. Janca started the frame by driving a 1-2 pitch off the scoreboard in leftfield for his sixth home run of the season. With two outs, Logan Foster sent a 1-1 pitch the same way to stake the Aggies to a 2-0 lead.
Davidson (35-26) took advantage of the early evening sun to knot the game in the bottom of the third. Cam Johnson got things started with a gapper to left-center and Will Robertson followed with a single up the middle. A&M starter Corbin Martin fanned the next two batters, but Jones was able to loft a fly ball to right-center and Aggie outfielders' inability to find the ball led to a two-run double.
The Wildcats tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Johnson and Robertson got the rally started again, this time with a double and single. Alec Acosta gave Davidson its first lead of the game with a single to rightfield. After Brian Fortier flied out for the first out, Jones knocked in Robertson with a sacrifice fly and Justin Lebek plated Acosta with a sacrifice fly.
Corbin Martin (7-4) worked in traffic much of the game, allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven in 4.2 innings. For the second straight day John Doxakis (4-3) earned the win out of the bullpen. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out three in 2.1 innings. Kaylor Chafin picked up his third career save, all in this year's NCAA Championship. He retired all six batters he faced, including three strikeouts.
Brett Centracchio started the bottom of the sixth by hitting a laser shot over the rightfield fence for a solo home run, staking Davidson to a 6-2 lead.
The Aggie offense was powered by Choruby, Bedford and Janca with two hits each. Pennington logged three RBI and Choruby and Kopetsky chipped in with two apiece.
Roberts worked 7.1 innings, yielding five runs, four earned on five hits and one walk while striking out five. Leonard (1-3) was saddled with the loss, allowing three unearned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out one in 0.1.
Johnson, Robertson, Acosta, Jones and Centracchio each logged two hits apiece. Jones logged three RBI and Johnson and Robertson accounted for two runs apiece.
The Aggies open up College World Series play against Louisville either next Saturday or Sunday. The date and time of the matchup in Omaha will be announced Monday evening.
NOTES
Texas A&M (41-21)
Team Notes
- The Aggies advanced to the College World Series for the sixth time in program history. Texas A&M was on the right side of Super Regional sweep for the first time after a pair of sweeps by Rice (2007 and 2008) and LSU in 2004.
- Texas A&M became the first team seeded three or four to sweep their way to Omaha since the NCAA moved to the Super Regional format in 1999.
- Texas A&M won their first five NCAA tournament games for the first time since 1993 when they swept the College Station regional and won their first game at the College World Series.
- Texas A&M started 0-for-12 with runners on base before Hunter Coleman's double in the 8th.
- The first two Aggie hits of the ballgame came on solo homers in the third. They managed one other hit in the first six innings coming on a single in the sixth.
- In the seven-run seventh, the Aggies brought 11 hitters to the plate. They needed just four hits to do so reaching twice on errors. The seven-run frames were the most for Texas A&M since March 7 against UTRGV.
- The Aggies piled eight of their 11 hits on the Wildcats in the games final two frames.
- Each of the first eight in the Aggies order recorded a hit in the win.
Individual Notes
- Starter Corbin Martin worked 4.2 innings allowing a career high in runs (5XX). The junior fanned seven and allowed eight hits
- Nick Choruby had a 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. He's hitting 11-for-22 in the NCAA Championship with three walks and seven RBI out of the leadoff spot.
- In his last Olsen Field at bat, senior Walker Pennington went deep for the first time at home this season and eighth of his Aggie career.
- John Doxakis earned his fourth win of the season to improve to 4-4. He allowed one run and fanned three in 2.1 inning.
- Kaylor Chafin was perfect in his 2.0 innings of relief earning the save in his 31st appearance of the season. Chafin lowered his ERA to a team-leading 2.49.
Davidson (35-26)
Team Notes
- The Wildcats, making their first ever NCAA Tournament, finished with a 3-2 record that included a pair of victories over the No. 2 overall seed in the North Carolina Tar Heels.
- Five Wildcats had multi-hit games including the first three in the order going a combined 6-for-14.
- The 12 runs allowed by Wildcat pitching was their most since an April game with Wake Forest.
- Davidson fell to 30-7 when holding a lead after 7 innings.
Individual Notes
- Southpaw Evan Roberts got the no-decision in his 7.1 innings of work. He fanned five Aggies and allowed five runs, four of which were earned.
- Will Robertson reached base for the 56th consecutive game with a single in the second. The senior finished his career as the Davidson single-season home run leader.
- Getting the start at DH, Brett Centracchio hit his fourth homer of the season in the sixth. He finished the day 2-for-4 for his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
- Eric Jones had his 26th multi-hit game of the season. Jones hit 22-for-45 (.489) over the 11 postseason games.
- With a 2-for-4 day Alec Acosta extended his on-base streak to 21 consecutive games.
TEXAS A&M POST GAME QUOTES
GAME TWO – JUNE 10, 2017
ROB CHILDRESS, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"What a hard fought Super Regional. Davidson is incredibly talented, incredibly well-coached and incredibly well-prepared. They gave us everything that we could want and then some and we are just very fortunate to win the weekend. I couldn't be more proud of our guys from top to bottom. All 27 made an impact the last two weeks and the more I do this, the more I realize that it's not always about the roster. When you look at the roster, you look at the experience. Sometimes it's when guys on the roster make a decision together to do something special and make their breaks. Everybody on this roster gets credit for that. When you look back to the last couple years of heartbreak, I don't think we would be at this point if it weren't for guys like Michael Barash, Hunter Melton, Ryne Birk, Boomer White, JB Moss, Nick Banks, Kyle Simonds and many others. They got us to the door and allowed us to taste what it feels like and the pressure of being in a Super Regional. These seniors led the 27 through the door this year. I couldn't be more proud of everybody in and out of our program."
On advancing at home…
"Today with 7,500 and all of them hanging on every pitch for you, it's a pretty special feeling to be the Head Coach at Texas A&M and to represent our baseball program."
On any doubts about being able to make it to Omaha…
"Certainly so. If you don't say you question yourself at 0-5 in league play, I think you'd be lying to yourself. For us to find a way to win on Sunday at Vanderbilt was gigantic. Going on the road to LSU the next week and finding a way to win two was also big. April turned into a really good month for us."
On being able to stand in the dugout and watch his team dogpile…
"That's why I do it. To sit there and enjoy that moment with the smiles on their faces and hope nobody gets hurt. To listen to the locker room right now. That's why we spend so much time away from our families. I have such a great time with these guys. To see their joy is worth it."
BLAKE KOPETSKY, SENIOR RF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"It's a surreal moment right now. I don't really know what to expect. All that I can do right now is just enjoy every second of it with my brothers."
NICK CHORUBY, SENIOR CF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"Like Blake said, I'm at a loss for words. This is what I've been dreaming of my whole life, to go to Omaha. Now we have the chance to go and compete for a National Championship. I'm so excited"
WALKER PENNINGTON, SENIOR CF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"I can't stop smiling. I know we all know how hard this season has been. We've had a lot of adversity. We had a lot of adversity this game. I think that this game summed up our whole season on how it's never been easy but we found a way to win."
On his homerun…
"I got all of it. I didn't look at it the whole way around. I made eye contact with Coach Carlson right when I hit it and we just smiled at each other. It felt great. The crowd was really loud and you don't remember what happens. You're just so caught up in the moment. You get to home plate, you can't breathe. Everyone's running into you as hard as they can and you're just trying to get to the dugout."
DAVIDSON POST GAME QUOTES
GAME TWO – JUNE 10, 2017
DICK COOKE, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I think the only thing that's appropriate to say in this kind of scenario is congratulations to Texas A&M. They have a great ball club. Hard fought two games. I'll answer questions about the game if they come up, but just congratulations to them, and we certainly look forward to a great representation by them at Omaha. We certainly don't do anything conventionally. I think it has been quite a ride that we will talk about once we get back home. We will let it process a little bit and let these guys interact with these hundreds of alums and former players who are here tonight. We will let the dust settle and take the next step. Thank you all for your attention to what these guys have done."
On dropped pop fly in the eighth…
"Ironically, I chaired the NCAA Rules Committee for a couple of years and was on it for a while. It was the correct call. You have to have a voluntary release. He, by definition, had control of that ball, and when he opened the glove, it came out. For an NFL wide receiver, that is probably a catch, but in the way our rule is written, it has to be voluntary release. He has to be making the attempt to release that baseball. If a guy catches a baseball, puts his glove to the side and the ball drops out, that's technically not a catch. So, they applied the rule exactly as it should be. It was a tough play, and it was loud. I got it. You take it. A bunch of us talking over each other. It was certainly an unfortunate play, and our biggest concern right now is making sure Alec [Acosta]'s okay. He got dinged a little bit which is why we took him out."
On what went wrong in the eighth…
"I don't know that anything drastically went wrong. We didn't play defense the way that we needed to in the eighth. You are in a high leverage situation there. You've got to pay attention to how many times a pitcher has seen a group of hitters. We had, I thought, some good matchups in the bullpen with Austin Leonard, a good slider guy with the guys coming in, so I think we just didn't play defense at the right time, well enough, and credit them for banging. We certainly have had some games where we've been the offensive team who's taken advantage of some miscues, but that's part of the game of baseball too."
On loudness of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park and dropped ball…
"I asked our catcher. I think they all heard one another. I just think it was a case of they were talking over the top of each other at the same time, and our first baseman was trying to help. As great of a crowd this is, I'm not going to say we dropped that ball because of the A&M crowd. I think it was just one of those unfortunate situations when third baseman, second baseman are in cadence with one another and even the help that Fortier was trying to give them, calling, and telling Alec to take it. They just couldn't hear it. In a very unusual type pop-up, in a weird kind of place and you know again not a conventional type of play by any stretch."
On NCAA Tournament…
"It exceeded expectations. We've talked about it a little bit about how we got here to begin with. How we battled to get into our tournament in the league and then how we came out of the losers' bracket. Then we beat North Carolina twice. That is far exceeding what we, as a group, probably expected at the front end of the season. I am, I think they are too, very step-by-step goal oriented. This game and then tomorrow's game. We weren't 52-4 and rolling through. We battled. That's been the pleasure for me is watching these guys compete and never giving up. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but the approach never varied."
BRETT CENTRACCHIO, FRESHMAN DH
On the NCAA Tournament…
"I mean it's been unreal. You know, just as a freshman coming in to really expect to go this far. The biggest thing right now is just really feeling bad about not being able to play with the seniors again. I mean what they did for us, leadership. They taught me the ways. It's definitely exceeded expectations, but you know it still hurts because it was right there for us. We were chasing Omaha really today, like we came in as the loosest club in America, but it didn't work out. Still, you have to see what we did. Probably the best year in Davidson baseball history, so it's something special and going to try to build on that the next three years."
On their attitude when they were up 6-2…
"I mean, I still don't think anybody was pressing really. We were still loose and everything. We felt comfortable. Kind of how it's been all year. Down six, up six, we really are a loose club. I mean as you saw, things kind of slipped away, but we were still loose. I had a great time this week. Tough ending, but I am going to remember it forever honestly."
| Texas A&M has received a very limited number of tickets in their team block. College World Series ticket requests were offered to 12th Man Foundation members by Priority Point rank and will be allocated accordingly. Texas A&M will not conduct a sale for College World Series tickets. Fans are highly encouraged to visit cwsomaha.com or flashseats.com for ticket availability. |
THE AGGIES ARE GOING TO OMAHA!! #12thMan ?? #CWS pic.twitter.com/CZrAxcOY7S
— NCAA Baseball (@NCAACWS) June 11, 2017
"To sit there and enjoy that moment, with the smiles on their faces...to see their joy, that's why we do it." -@Rob_Childress #12thMan pic.twitter.com/pywf03LUp2
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
?????? #12thMan #NCAABaseball #OmahaBound @NCAACWS pic.twitter.com/YSwTO3a1PN
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
Trailing 6-2 going into the top of the eighth, things looked bleak for the Aggies. Nick Choruby gave the Aggies some life with a leadoff single to centerfield and with one out, Braden Shewmake reached on a fielding error by shortstop Max Bazin. Hunter Coleman roped a double to left-center knocking in Choruby and driving Davidson starter Evan Roberts from the contest. Reliever Austin Leonard plunked Cole Bedford with a pitch to fill the bags with Ags and Blake Kopetsky slapped a single up the middle to knock in two runs and cut the Wildcats' lead to 6-5. After Walker Pennington swung and missed at strike three for the second out of the inning, George Janca was issued a seven-pitch walk to reload the bases.
The Aggies sent pinch-hitter Jorge Gutierrez to the mound and Davidson responded with a pitching change, bringing in Barry Allen. Allen got Gutierrez to pop up behind the mound, but second baseman Alex Acosta was unable to hang on to the ball after being leveled by third baseman Eric Jones. Texas A&M scored two runs on the miscue to take a 7-6 lead and in his second at-bat in the frame, Choruby bounced a two-run single up the middle to inflate the cushion to three runs.
Pennington put the dagger in with a three-run home run to leftfield in the top of the ninth.
Texas A&M (41-21) broke the scoring seal in the top of the third inning. Janca started the frame by driving a 1-2 pitch off the scoreboard in leftfield for his sixth home run of the season. With two outs, Logan Foster sent a 1-1 pitch the same way to stake the Aggies to a 2-0 lead.
Davidson (35-26) took advantage of the early evening sun to knot the game in the bottom of the third. Cam Johnson got things started with a gapper to left-center and Will Robertson followed with a single up the middle. A&M starter Corbin Martin fanned the next two batters, but Jones was able to loft a fly ball to right-center and Aggie outfielders' inability to find the ball led to a two-run double.
The Wildcats tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Johnson and Robertson got the rally started again, this time with a double and single. Alec Acosta gave Davidson its first lead of the game with a single to rightfield. After Brian Fortier flied out for the first out, Jones knocked in Robertson with a sacrifice fly and Justin Lebek plated Acosta with a sacrifice fly.
Corbin Martin (7-4) worked in traffic much of the game, allowing five runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven in 4.2 innings. For the second straight day John Doxakis (4-3) earned the win out of the bullpen. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out three in 2.1 innings. Kaylor Chafin picked up his third career save, all in this year's NCAA Championship. He retired all six batters he faced, including three strikeouts.
Brett Centracchio started the bottom of the sixth by hitting a laser shot over the rightfield fence for a solo home run, staking Davidson to a 6-2 lead.
The Aggie offense was powered by Choruby, Bedford and Janca with two hits each. Pennington logged three RBI and Choruby and Kopetsky chipped in with two apiece.
Roberts worked 7.1 innings, yielding five runs, four earned on five hits and one walk while striking out five. Leonard (1-3) was saddled with the loss, allowing three unearned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out one in 0.1.
Johnson, Robertson, Acosta, Jones and Centracchio each logged two hits apiece. Jones logged three RBI and Johnson and Robertson accounted for two runs apiece.
The Aggies open up College World Series play against Louisville either next Saturday or Sunday. The date and time of the matchup in Omaha will be announced Monday evening.
"It's the best feeling in the world." -@brig_hill on going to #omaha #12thMan #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/WaccRto8Hf
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"It's the best feeling in the world. I'm so proud of our guys right now." -@martin_corbin #12thMan #Omaha #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/nb08GqBVNv
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"It's like an unreal feeling. It's awesome." -@A_Homan3 on going to #Omaha #12thman #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/vxqFrlQy8u
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"Everybody believed. That's why we're going." -@TurnerLarkins #12thMan #omaha #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/lSV7OLamvA
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"Couldn't be more proud of everybody." -@bradenshewmake #12thMan #omaha #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/gLJkr20SVy
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"I love how this feels." -@CBed12 #12thMan #omaha #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/M6w5B2BQfn
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"It was against all odds." -@mr_mitches on reaching #omaha #12thMan #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/BLQmyc3KYi
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"It's what I've been dreaming of my whole life." -@NickChoruby on going to #Omaha #12thMan #NCAABaseball pic.twitter.com/NszKkN9z8F
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"I can't stop smiling." -@Walka_Floka #12thMan #NCAABaseball #OmahaBound pic.twitter.com/LpEFDmq1CG
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
"Surreal moment." -@BlakeKopetsky #12thMan #NCAABaseball #OmahaBound pic.twitter.com/ZNxTASxUsX
— Texas A&M Baseball (@AggieBaseball) June 11, 2017
NOTES
Texas A&M (41-21)
Team Notes
- The Aggies advanced to the College World Series for the sixth time in program history. Texas A&M was on the right side of Super Regional sweep for the first time after a pair of sweeps by Rice (2007 and 2008) and LSU in 2004.
- Texas A&M became the first team seeded three or four to sweep their way to Omaha since the NCAA moved to the Super Regional format in 1999.
- Texas A&M won their first five NCAA tournament games for the first time since 1993 when they swept the College Station regional and won their first game at the College World Series.
- Texas A&M started 0-for-12 with runners on base before Hunter Coleman's double in the 8th.
- The first two Aggie hits of the ballgame came on solo homers in the third. They managed one other hit in the first six innings coming on a single in the sixth.
- In the seven-run seventh, the Aggies brought 11 hitters to the plate. They needed just four hits to do so reaching twice on errors. The seven-run frames were the most for Texas A&M since March 7 against UTRGV.
- The Aggies piled eight of their 11 hits on the Wildcats in the games final two frames.
- Each of the first eight in the Aggies order recorded a hit in the win.
Individual Notes
- Starter Corbin Martin worked 4.2 innings allowing a career high in runs (5XX). The junior fanned seven and allowed eight hits
- Nick Choruby had a 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. He's hitting 11-for-22 in the NCAA Championship with three walks and seven RBI out of the leadoff spot.
- In his last Olsen Field at bat, senior Walker Pennington went deep for the first time at home this season and eighth of his Aggie career.
- John Doxakis earned his fourth win of the season to improve to 4-4. He allowed one run and fanned three in 2.1 inning.
- Kaylor Chafin was perfect in his 2.0 innings of relief earning the save in his 31st appearance of the season. Chafin lowered his ERA to a team-leading 2.49.
Davidson (35-26)
Team Notes
- The Wildcats, making their first ever NCAA Tournament, finished with a 3-2 record that included a pair of victories over the No. 2 overall seed in the North Carolina Tar Heels.
- Five Wildcats had multi-hit games including the first three in the order going a combined 6-for-14.
- The 12 runs allowed by Wildcat pitching was their most since an April game with Wake Forest.
- Davidson fell to 30-7 when holding a lead after 7 innings.
Individual Notes
- Southpaw Evan Roberts got the no-decision in his 7.1 innings of work. He fanned five Aggies and allowed five runs, four of which were earned.
- Will Robertson reached base for the 56th consecutive game with a single in the second. The senior finished his career as the Davidson single-season home run leader.
- Getting the start at DH, Brett Centracchio hit his fourth homer of the season in the sixth. He finished the day 2-for-4 for his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
- Eric Jones had his 26th multi-hit game of the season. Jones hit 22-for-45 (.489) over the 11 postseason games.
- With a 2-for-4 day Alec Acosta extended his on-base streak to 21 consecutive games.
TEXAS A&M POST GAME QUOTES
GAME TWO – JUNE 10, 2017
ROB CHILDRESS, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"What a hard fought Super Regional. Davidson is incredibly talented, incredibly well-coached and incredibly well-prepared. They gave us everything that we could want and then some and we are just very fortunate to win the weekend. I couldn't be more proud of our guys from top to bottom. All 27 made an impact the last two weeks and the more I do this, the more I realize that it's not always about the roster. When you look at the roster, you look at the experience. Sometimes it's when guys on the roster make a decision together to do something special and make their breaks. Everybody on this roster gets credit for that. When you look back to the last couple years of heartbreak, I don't think we would be at this point if it weren't for guys like Michael Barash, Hunter Melton, Ryne Birk, Boomer White, JB Moss, Nick Banks, Kyle Simonds and many others. They got us to the door and allowed us to taste what it feels like and the pressure of being in a Super Regional. These seniors led the 27 through the door this year. I couldn't be more proud of everybody in and out of our program."
On advancing at home…
"Today with 7,500 and all of them hanging on every pitch for you, it's a pretty special feeling to be the Head Coach at Texas A&M and to represent our baseball program."
On any doubts about being able to make it to Omaha…
"Certainly so. If you don't say you question yourself at 0-5 in league play, I think you'd be lying to yourself. For us to find a way to win on Sunday at Vanderbilt was gigantic. Going on the road to LSU the next week and finding a way to win two was also big. April turned into a really good month for us."
On being able to stand in the dugout and watch his team dogpile…
"That's why I do it. To sit there and enjoy that moment with the smiles on their faces and hope nobody gets hurt. To listen to the locker room right now. That's why we spend so much time away from our families. I have such a great time with these guys. To see their joy is worth it."
BLAKE KOPETSKY, SENIOR RF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"It's a surreal moment right now. I don't really know what to expect. All that I can do right now is just enjoy every second of it with my brothers."
NICK CHORUBY, SENIOR CF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"Like Blake said, I'm at a loss for words. This is what I've been dreaming of my whole life, to go to Omaha. Now we have the chance to go and compete for a National Championship. I'm so excited"
WALKER PENNINGTON, SENIOR CF
On what this moment feels like as a senior…
"I can't stop smiling. I know we all know how hard this season has been. We've had a lot of adversity. We had a lot of adversity this game. I think that this game summed up our whole season on how it's never been easy but we found a way to win."
On his homerun…
"I got all of it. I didn't look at it the whole way around. I made eye contact with Coach Carlson right when I hit it and we just smiled at each other. It felt great. The crowd was really loud and you don't remember what happens. You're just so caught up in the moment. You get to home plate, you can't breathe. Everyone's running into you as hard as they can and you're just trying to get to the dugout."
DAVIDSON POST GAME QUOTES
GAME TWO – JUNE 10, 2017
DICK COOKE, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"I think the only thing that's appropriate to say in this kind of scenario is congratulations to Texas A&M. They have a great ball club. Hard fought two games. I'll answer questions about the game if they come up, but just congratulations to them, and we certainly look forward to a great representation by them at Omaha. We certainly don't do anything conventionally. I think it has been quite a ride that we will talk about once we get back home. We will let it process a little bit and let these guys interact with these hundreds of alums and former players who are here tonight. We will let the dust settle and take the next step. Thank you all for your attention to what these guys have done."
On dropped pop fly in the eighth…
"Ironically, I chaired the NCAA Rules Committee for a couple of years and was on it for a while. It was the correct call. You have to have a voluntary release. He, by definition, had control of that ball, and when he opened the glove, it came out. For an NFL wide receiver, that is probably a catch, but in the way our rule is written, it has to be voluntary release. He has to be making the attempt to release that baseball. If a guy catches a baseball, puts his glove to the side and the ball drops out, that's technically not a catch. So, they applied the rule exactly as it should be. It was a tough play, and it was loud. I got it. You take it. A bunch of us talking over each other. It was certainly an unfortunate play, and our biggest concern right now is making sure Alec [Acosta]'s okay. He got dinged a little bit which is why we took him out."
On what went wrong in the eighth…
"I don't know that anything drastically went wrong. We didn't play defense the way that we needed to in the eighth. You are in a high leverage situation there. You've got to pay attention to how many times a pitcher has seen a group of hitters. We had, I thought, some good matchups in the bullpen with Austin Leonard, a good slider guy with the guys coming in, so I think we just didn't play defense at the right time, well enough, and credit them for banging. We certainly have had some games where we've been the offensive team who's taken advantage of some miscues, but that's part of the game of baseball too."
On loudness of Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park and dropped ball…
"I asked our catcher. I think they all heard one another. I just think it was a case of they were talking over the top of each other at the same time, and our first baseman was trying to help. As great of a crowd this is, I'm not going to say we dropped that ball because of the A&M crowd. I think it was just one of those unfortunate situations when third baseman, second baseman are in cadence with one another and even the help that Fortier was trying to give them, calling, and telling Alec to take it. They just couldn't hear it. In a very unusual type pop-up, in a weird kind of place and you know again not a conventional type of play by any stretch."
On NCAA Tournament…
"It exceeded expectations. We've talked about it a little bit about how we got here to begin with. How we battled to get into our tournament in the league and then how we came out of the losers' bracket. Then we beat North Carolina twice. That is far exceeding what we, as a group, probably expected at the front end of the season. I am, I think they are too, very step-by-step goal oriented. This game and then tomorrow's game. We weren't 52-4 and rolling through. We battled. That's been the pleasure for me is watching these guys compete and never giving up. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but the approach never varied."
BRETT CENTRACCHIO, FRESHMAN DH
On the NCAA Tournament…
"I mean it's been unreal. You know, just as a freshman coming in to really expect to go this far. The biggest thing right now is just really feeling bad about not being able to play with the seniors again. I mean what they did for us, leadership. They taught me the ways. It's definitely exceeded expectations, but you know it still hurts because it was right there for us. We were chasing Omaha really today, like we came in as the loosest club in America, but it didn't work out. Still, you have to see what we did. Probably the best year in Davidson baseball history, so it's something special and going to try to build on that the next three years."
On their attitude when they were up 6-2…
"I mean, I still don't think anybody was pressing really. We were still loose and everything. We felt comfortable. Kind of how it's been all year. Down six, up six, we really are a loose club. I mean as you saw, things kind of slipped away, but we were still loose. I had a great time this week. Tough ending, but I am going to remember it forever honestly."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Doxakis, John (4-3)
L: Leonard, Austin (1-3)
S: Chafin, Kaylor (3)
Batting:
2B: Coleman, Hunter 1
HR: Foster, Logan 1 ; Pennington, Walker 1 ; Janca, George 1
RBI: Choruby, Nick 2 ; Foster, Logan 1 ; Coleman, Hunter 1 ; Kopetsky, Blake 2 ; Pennington, Walker 3 ; Janca, George 1
SH: Homan, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Choruby, Nick 1 ; Foster, Logan 1 ; Shewmake, Braden 2 ; Coleman, Hunter 1 ; Bedford, Cole 2 ; Kopetsky, Blake 1 ; Pennington, Walker 1 ; Janca, George 2 ; Gillman, Tommy 1
HBP: Shewmake, Braden 1 ; Bedford, Cole 1
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Cam 1 ; Jones, Eric 2
HR: Centracchio, Brett 1
RBI: Acosta, Alec 1 ; Jones, Eric 3 ; Lebek, Justin 1 ; Centracchio, Brett 1
SF: Lebek, Justin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Johnson, Cam 2 ; Robertson, Will 2 ; Acosta, Alec 1 ; Centracchio, Brett 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
5
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
OF
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LHP
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INF/C
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/ BaseballFall Practice Preview: Michael Earley
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Friday, May 23
