Virginia Postgame Quotes - Game 4 vs Appalachian State - NCAA Regional

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Virginia coach Brian O’Connor

Opening statement:
“Appalachian State played very well today. They hit in the clutch early in the game. They were very, very aggressive and took the fight to us and got us back on our heels. I’m proud of our guys that we were able to crawl back into it. Lewicki did a nice job sucking up the game for us. Crockett was really good and so was Thompson. We just didn’t have enough to get a couple more clutch hits and do what it takes to beat a good ball club like they have. We have to deal with it and we have to be ready to play in an hour against a good Oklahoma club and we have a chance to show what we’re made of. “

On Seth Grant:
“Seth did a nice job. Obviously he is a big kid who has a nice arm. He did live on the edge. I think what is a big part of the game is that we did not capitalize when he gave us opportunities and they capitalized against Lewicki when they had opportunities. That was pretty much the story of the game. I think Seth is a fine pitcher. You can see why he’s good. When he gives you opportunities like we had, to be champions you have to capitalize on them.”

On Artie Lewicki:
“Obviously I think that pop-up to begin the game obviously changed the first inning. But in that second inning they were very aggressive. Rather than bunting they hit and ran. He didn’t get over to cover first. He ran and he was late. If he gets over there right away, you collect the second out and it’s a completely different inning. To App State’s credit, they put pressure on him. They were taking good, aggressive swings against him. You put up a five run inning like that, those are hard to come back from.”

Virginia pitcher, Artie Lewicki

On today’s outing:
“I think just early I wasn’t able to keep the ball down. I struggled to throw strikes early. Pitches just weren’t going well too early. I felt I settled down later though. I tried to keep our team in it the rest of the game.”

On the five runs in the second inning:
“That was a blow but it didn’t really take me out of it completely. It was tough seeing five runs put up there but I knew it was early enough. Our coach always preaches to us that you can overcome big numbers early and it was only the second inning so I figured we could come back and we almost did.”