Ole Miss is one win away from its first trip back to the College World Series after Friday night’s 6-4 win against Auburn.
Afterwards, the Rebels’ head coach Mike Bianco, third baseman Judd Utermark and outfielder Brayden Randle met with reporters to talk about the game, including Bianco’s decision to move players around in the outfield. Here’s everything they said.
Mike Bianco, Head Coach
Opening Statement…
I thought it was a great college baseball game. I thought we played really well. On the mound, for our reporters and fans who have seen Hunter Elliott for so many years, he can have games like that where it looks like it’s not going to be his night. But he just makes pitches and gets off the field. He’s got as much guts as anybody that’s ever put on this uniform. It was great to have him out there grinding through it. And then, of course, I thought maybe a huge part of the game, besides the offense, was Calhoun coming in during the fifth and getting off the field with a couple big outs.
Obviously, Brayden is here because he was the guy who threw the first punch and the first couple punches. I’m just proud of the way he’s played the last couple weekends. We talked about it a couple weeks ago. He’s been taking fly balls out in the outfield, and with a chance to get him on the field and still leave the DH spot open for Reuter, that ended up working out pretty well for us tonight with a couple hits from him and a big home run by Reuter. Then, of course, a huge home run by Judd. I thought we played really well. They’re a really good team. They can really pitch it. It’s an offense that’s underrated on the other side, but we played really well tonight.
On Brayden Randle…
He mentioned it. It’s tough. I was going to say it’s tough on young people, but it’s tough on anybody, right? You’re a starter and all of a sudden you’re not. But we ask that of everyone. We ask them to be selfless, to put the team first and to accept their role. Certainly, he’s done that. He’s done it a lot of different ways, either as a backup or when Fed got hurt and we moved Paino to third base and moved him to short. He’s done that a lot, but I’m proud of him because in the biggest moments, I don’t know if he sees it, but we see it. The pulse is slow. He wants those big moments. There are certain guys who won’t pull the trigger, certain guys who are different in those moments, and he’s almost better in those moments. It’s been a big boost to that lineup, especially the back half of the lineup, the last couple of weeks.
On starting game with Tristan Bissetta in left field…
The truth is, I didn’t know the 14U story. I just took it as he had never played before, and I didn’t want the first time he ran out there for the sun to be in his face. The Monster didn’t scare me as much as the sun did. This field is situated a little different than most. Most fields, the sun field is right field. This field is like Omaha, Georgia and some other parks — I think Arkansas — where the sun field is left field.
Playing at 7 o’clock, and actually I think tomorrow it’ll be a bigger factor, we weren’t sure how much that would be a factor at the beginning. I really don’t think it was a factor at the beginning, but that was the plan all along. It was maybe an inning, two, three. Once Pacella said the sun was fine — and you have to remember, Pacella plays right field for us, so he plays in the sun every game and he’s used to it — we did that. Actually, our guys probably remember up in Minute Maid to start the season, we put Pacella in left field to handle the sun. Tomorrow we’ll probably do a little bit of that, with the guy who’s a little more comfortable out there with the sun.
On umpire decisions in final at-bat of the game…
The umpire called it originally that the ball hit the ground. The umpire, David Savage from first, came in and thought he had a better angle. The umpire saw the ball, felt that the ball was scuffed from hitting the ground and ruled that the ball hit the ground.
On keeping Hudson Calhoun on the mound in the seventh inning…
This is different than last week. We talked about it, Joel and I. Obviously, you have to win the first game, but you have to win two. Last week, the risk-reward for winning and losing was so great in those first two games that it’s really difficult if you lose one of those first two games. We were willing to empty the tank on anybody to win the game. This becomes more like a three-game series where you have to have enough to finish it. With the way (Calhoun) was throwing the ball, we thought he was in control. Really, once he got through the seventh, we were hitter to hitter. I’m just proud of him. He’s shown that he deserves it. He’s earned that opportunity. Sometimes you don’t know because of the emotion. I think that’s what really drained him — to come in there, get off the field in the fifth and get through the sixth. Then all of a sudden you get through the seventh, and now we’re really squeezing it. But again, we were trying to save pitches for Hooks.
Brayden Randle, OF
On last time playing in outfield…
There were about four people who asked me about it before the game. I told them 14U summer ball.
On preparing to play in outfield…
I really don’t know how they thought about it, but for some reason, all the infielders in our last round of BP would go out and take fly balls in the outfield. I just caught the balls. I guess they noticed that and put me out there one day for practice. I kept doing it, kept doing it, kept doing it, and I started to feel comfortable out there.
On hot bat at the plate in postseason…
Really everything. I just go up there with that approach, do it for the team, know no moment is too big and try to think like there are no outs in the game. I think tonight there were two outs on both of my hits. I went up there like there were no outs, put the ball in play and let good things happen.
On playing great in clutch situations in the postseason…
Man, it’s just another game. That’s the mindset I go into it with. I’m just proud of the guys around me who have kept that same mindset.
On mindset in May with limited playing time…
I just wanted to stay ready for when my name was going to be called again. I wanted to be ready so I could get in there, do the best for the team and keep winning. It was hard, for sure, playing every day and then having to sit. But I just kept the mindset that when I got in there again, I was going to show them how it’s done.
Judd Utermark, 3B
On fifth inning home run…
It felt good. Obviously, there’s a massive Green Monster wall out there in left. It’s one of the reasons why I love playing here. It’s cool to have something different on your field. I knew I had to hit it high enough, and I definitely hit it high enough. It was just a matter of whether it was going to go the distance. But yeah, it felt good off the bat. I’m glad it put two up there for us.
