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Georgia Southern University Athletics

Press Conference

Baseball

NCAA Regional Teams Meet With the Media

Coaches and players prepare for Friday's openers

Statesboro Regional
Press Conference Notes
Thursday, Jun 2, 2022

Georgia Southern
  • Rodney Hennon
    • Opening
      • "Certainly it's an honor to be one of 16 teams across the country to be hosting a Regional. That's pretty special. You know, Monday was a special day for our program, even going back to Sunday night when it was first announced. Then, obviously, finding out what the field looks like on Monday. Pretty special day for our program, not just these kids, the guys on the team, but also our University, our community. So much goes into this, every year, not just this year. The players, the coaches, the support staff, our administration, that is part of what makes Georgia Southern and Statesboro a special place, is the support that we get from so many people here. I think that Eagle Nation certainly takes pride in this. We're very proud to be in this situation and it's a great opportunity for us and now that is what we are looking forward to. We're looking forward to the opportunity to compete this weekend beginning Friday night against UNC Greensboro. 
    • Surprised by Sell Out
      • "Not at all. I really thought that if we are able to get one, knowing our fans and the support we get, not surprised at all that it sold out."
    • Prep for UNCG
      • "Greensboro has a really good team. You know, made a great run in the Southern Conference tournament. What was it, something like seven games. That's crazy. They're playing their best baseball coming in here. They're well coached."
      • "For us, we try to focus on being the best version of Georgia Southern we can be every day we show up and compete as hard as we can for nine innings or longer than that if that is what it takes. We try not to get away from that."
    • Home Field Advantage
      • "I mean one, you know the ballpark and the surface, you know how the park plays. You're comfortable with your surroundings and obviously you would always rather play in front of your fans when possible. It's been a vision, when this stadium was renovated back in 2005, that was the vision for this program. We looked at the specs back in those days with Dr. Grube and Sam Baker. We went off those specs to one day be in position to host a regional. It's pretty cool to see that come to fruition."
 
  • Austin Thompson
    • Seeing NCAA logos on field, etc.
      • "As a player, it's awesome to show up the past few days and see all the work going on and all the people going into it. I can't thank them enough for everything that they've done. At the end of the day, we still have to go out there and compete every pitch and win a baseball game to keep the season going. I think it's great to kind of stand back for a second but you gotta draw back in and realize we're here to win baseball games."
    • Message to teammates
      • "Same message all year from Coach Hennon. Compete one pitch at a time, you can't do it all in one pitch. You can't hit a home run and that be it. You have to play every pitch out. That kind of takes a big picture and turns it into a small one and I think it's a lot more achievable as a player or coach just focusing one pitch at a time. After that pitch, kind of forget about it and on to the next whether it's good or bad, gotta keep going."
  • Jason Swan
    • Moment in season players got together to refocus, etc.
      • "After that series (Tennessee), we had a meeting, started out with the coaches first and then the players stayed after. Players meeting talked about what we can do better ourselves as a team. After that, it just clicked."
    • Message to teammates
      • "Prepare the same way we have all year. Take it day by day really and go out there and do your thing. Don't get caught up in the moment too much. Play your game."

Notre Dame
  • Link Jarrett
    • Opening
      • "Well there is one thing we are looking to get done here. Obviously that's trying to compete with these three championship level teams. Everybody in this tournament, all 64 teams, have found a way to do something special throughout the course of either the long season or a very difficult conference tournament and these teams are no exception to that. All four are unique, all four are good, all four are competitive, well coached, and talented. So that is what you're running into. And to be playing baseball this weekend, you have clearly separated yourself in some form or fashion. Either in a tournament setting or in the long haul of an entire season to position yourself here. I am proud of our team, on the field. When  you start the season, you try to compete in your conference. I think that is the most important thing when the season engages and I felt like from the first pitch to the end our guys did that. To have the most wins in our division in the aggregate setting was exceptional on their part. I couldn't be more proud of their academics, to set academic records for the program, essentially each semester upping the ante on what they've been able to do. They've answered in every phase of what we've asked them to do at Notre Dame. They're exceptional leaders on campus and in the community. I couldn't be more proud about it. I'm happy we're in this. I've been to Georgia Southern a bunch. My wife's father went to Georgia Southern. They were in the SoCon when I started coaching at Greensboro. I've been here, played here when I was at East Carolina. I know it, the fans are great. It's a great surface, I know they redid the field, phenomenal. Good setting, good weather. Hopefully the thunderstorms in the afternoon don't affect us. We're excited. There are 250+ teams that are hurting today. My son was on one. Those are tough decisions that unfold on that Monday. I am very thankful that we're playing and our guys are excited to be here. We're ready to go, we had a good workout. Hopefully everyone continues to improve health wise and we'll give it our best shot."
    • On Texas Tech
      • "Talented, aggressive, they play with alot of confidence. You know they have some power arms on the front end. I don't know if we're seeing Morris, it's good stuff. They have a mix of returners that obviously experienced playing in a Super Regional last year and they have some talented new players. Tim does a great job with this program, he has done that for a number of years."
      • "Well coached, experienced, good, talented. The power arms stand out."
  • David LaManna
    • Impressions of GS/Field, etc.
      • "I think the facilities are great. I was happy to get out there and kind of get my bearings a little bit. See how the ball plays in the infield and off the wall. I really think it's going to be a good time and the stadium is going to bring alot of energy and we're ready for it."
    • Team mentality
      • "Like coach said, we were disappointed we weren't able to host in South Bend, but that's really out of our control so we were excited to get out here and get down here and really compete. I think we're going to be relentless and we're confident coming into this."

Texas Tech
  • Tim Tadlock
    • Opening & playing on the road
      • "As far as the season goes, the regular season is over. To me, the season starts now. What you work for the whole year. What we've been looking forward to. We're looking forward to the opportunity. You guys look like you are doing a great job hosting so far. Looking forward to the regional."
      • "Definitely a different challenge. Definitely dealing with some things that you don't deal with otherwise if you're at home. But I do think it's what's best for this team. I do think things happen for a reason. I think this team is going to embrace the opportunity to be on the road. We've played good on the road late in the year and we're excited about it."
    • On Notre Dame
      • "Link Jarrett does a great job; he's done a great job everywhere he's been. Really great team. Obviously, you can make an argument they might have deserved hosting. There have been a lot of people making that argument. Looks like to me that their lineup is filled with alot of guys that have been around college baseball for a long time. It looks like a playoff baseball team to me because of the experience."
  • Brandon Birdsell
    • Adversity on the road
      • "It is what it is. We've gone on the road and done well regardless of the environment we've been in. We're an experienced team and we've been in these environments plenty of times, so it's not different. Got to remember why you put on the uniform and remember that you're playing the same game regardless of where you are. Can't always let the outside factors affect you, if you do, we're not going to win regardless of how well we play or how good you think you are."
  • Kurt Wilson
    • Playing on the road
      • "Yeah, you definitely embrace the challenge of going on the road. I feel like we did that pretty well late in the season. I think this team has come together and I'm ready to go out there and compete with these guys on a different stage."

UNCG
  • Billy Godwin
    • Opening
      • "We had an unbelievable finish, that's for sure. To start 0-7 in our league and go 12-2 down the stretch and finish in second place and play five straight elimination games; six games in three days. I've been in the game a long time and it was pretty remarkable and I'm just glad I was sitting with the same jersey on as the team who was doing it. Just really proud of these guys who battled through alot of adversity. Just couldn't be more proud of this team. They've grinded and battled and we're really playing good baseball coming into this regional."
    • On A Mid-Major Hosting
      • "I came here to win championships and we did. We have bigger goals, certainly we want to be in a regional and we're excited to be here. But my vision is I see one day we can host a regional."
    • Georgia Southern Outlook
      • "Just a quick look at this point at their overall statistics. Solid club. Looks like they can catch it on defense, solid offensive numbers, solid pitching numbers. And this time of the year when you play, this is my sixth regional as a head coach, there is not really anyone in any field that is not going to have a solid club. Certainly Georgia Southern has had a tremendous year."
  • Greg Hardison
    • Conference Tournament run
      • "We're good to go. We had a couple of days to prepare and prepare mentally and physically and get back into shape and get our legs back under us. We feel good and feel confident. Our run was quite incredible and we earned that conference championship and it felt good to win that."
      • "We have alot of confidence and just trying to win each day and play clean baseball."
    • Mentality
      • "With our mentality, I feel like we just never give up. We are very confident in each other and we've shown that throughout the conference tournament. We had our backs against the wall going through the losers bracket and then also starting out 0-7 in conference in the regular season. So there is just no quit in the team and we feel very confident in our abilities and we look forward to being competitive this weekend."
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Players Mentioned

Jason Swan

#2 Jason Swan

INF
6' 1"
Fifth Year
R/R
Austin Thompson

#22 Austin Thompson

INF
5' 10"
Fifth Year
R/R

Players Mentioned

Jason Swan

#2 Jason Swan

6' 1"
Fifth Year
R/R
INF
Austin Thompson

#22 Austin Thompson

5' 10"
Fifth Year
R/R
INF