Everything Monte Lee said after South Carolina's Friday win over Kentucky

South Carolina interim head baseball coach Monte Lee spoke to the media following the team’s 10-9 win over Kentucky on Friday. Here’s everything he had to say.

Opening statement

“Man, what a baseball game. Holy cow. I haven’t quite been able to take it all in, but I will say this: Literally, from the beginning of the game, from the first inning all the way through the night, that’s about as competitive a baseball game as you can watch between two teams.

“We scored five in the first. Certainly wasn’t expecting that, but I think we had eight quality at-bats in a row right out of the gate. It was so fun to watch our guys swing the bat well, obviously. Three hits in a row, [Ethan] Lizama with the grand slam to get us off to such a great start. And then, they scored four in the top of the second, and we had to go to the bullpen.

“We made some really nice plays. We made some errors, too; we were not perfect defensively tonight, which led to some opportunities for them to score more runs. But had two plays made — I think it was in the seventh, if I’m not mistaken. This guy right here [Tyler Bak] makes an unbelievable play, robs a home run. And then, Erik Parker made a heck of a play at second base.

“Our pitching staff has carried us for a majority of this season. We haven’t been able to support our pitching staff with runs, and we did that tonight. Just told the team after the game, ‘It’s good to see the offense carry us one time when the pitching staff wasn’t quite at their best.’

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“I like this guy to my left, Parker Marlatt. Just trying to find the answer there at the end of the game. They had so much momentum, and this guy came in and made quality pitches. And then, we had some tough luck there with the play at the end of the game that didn’t go our way. Here comes their best hitter [Jayce Tharnish] with the bases loaded, with the winning run sitting at second base, and he got him out. Just so proud of Parker being able to, in a big-time moment, come in, I think, with the bases loaded and finding a way to get it done. Just so proud of him stepping up for us once again.

“But it was definitely a team effort. They competed as hard as they could. We fought as hard as we could. I’m so proud of our team, and found a way to win here on a Friday night.”

When you brought Parker in against Arkansas, it did a lot for his confidence. How easy was it for you to turn to him? Did you get the sense that you knew he was going to be able to get those outs there, even in a tough spot?

“Look, that was a high-pressure game. As a coach, those are the kind of games that your heart just pounds through your chest. You try to act as calm as you can, but the stress and the nerves of the moment, it’s so intense in the dugout. So what I do, quite honestly, is I just try to think to myself, ‘Okay, who is the guy that I want to go to? Who is going to bring more of a calming effect to the whole dugout?’

“And Parker’s a very calm young man. I mean, that’s the one thing that I’ve always respected so much about him is, his demeanor on the mound is incredibly calm. He attacks hitters. I thought his answer was outstanding. He just adds and subtracts with his fastball and his curveball. His curveball, it’s big and it’s a softer curveball, and then he can throw it harder in the dirt when he needs to. But then, believe it or not, his fastball plays up. So I thought his answer was really good.

“One of the things that he does is, he just pounds the strike zone. I know I say that all the time, but just a calming presence. He’s not amped up. You never see him look like he’s nervous, in my opinion. I just always feel like there’s this calming presence about him when he comes out there. He’s the same kid every time out. And he is super competitive. He is a really, really competitive kid, and you don’t get to know those things unless you’re around him.

“So that’s why I went to him. I had all the confidence in the world that he was going to find a way to win the game for us.”

Just briefly, again, on Parker, what did you say to him when he came out of the bullpen in that situation? What was the approach for him?

“Well, one of the things that you hear when a guy like Parker comes into the game is, all of the infielders are excited about him coming into the game, too. So we just try to give him as much confidence when he comes up to the mound that, ‘Hey, we’re all super excited about you coming into the game.’ So I just told him, ‘Hey, man, go win the game for us.’ That’s all I told him.

“I don’t try to say a whole lot to him. They know how big the moment is, so I just gave him the ball and said, ‘Hey, man, win the game for us.’ All the infielders were there to encourage him, and they’re excited about him being in there, too.”

You said you’ve been looking for them to really play through those final nine outs of the game and for your batters to be on the offensive. How was tonight, in that way, what you’ve been waiting on?

“I mean, we hit the late home run by [Dawson] Harman — the two-strike home run. He hit two home runs. I can’t believe I didn’t mention him in the opening comments. The first home run that he hit was, maybe, the best at-bat of the season. I don’t know how many pitches he saw in that at-bat — there were two strikes on him — but it felt like a seven-, eight-pitch at-bat. He hits a home run opposite field, one of the best at-bats of the season. And then, he hits another two-strike home run. So for him to be able to come up and tack on another run with a home run…

“Tyler Bak hits the two-out, two-strike double. And then, Talmadge [LeCroy] hits a double down the left-field line to tack on another run. Like, being able to swing the bat late in the ball game and add some insurance runs — which turned out to be huge for us tonight — was critical for us.

“I was really proud of how we competed throughout the course of the game. Obviously, had the big inning in the first there, but we were able to come up with some huge at-bats later in the ball game to give us the cushion that we needed to hold on there at the end of the game.”

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Their starter, [Jaxon] Jelkin, is coming off a gem against Vanderbilt, has been very good all season. Your first six batters all get on base: first four with hits, then the grand slam. What’d you guys see in the scouting report off him, and was it just guys coming to the plate with more confidence?

“It’s just contagious. It’s momentum. I mean, I think that’s what offense is.

“Look, [Will] Craddock comes up there and smokes the ball his first at-bat of the game. Bak base hit over the second baseman’s head. Talmadge can’t get a bunt down, so then, with two strikes, he flips one over the shortstop’s head. Next thing you know, it’s bases loaded, nobody out.

“We struggled all day today trying to figure out a batting order. I mean, we must have had seven or eight lineups today. But just felt like Lizama has been swinging the bat really, really well. Let’s put him in the four hole. Make him see two left-handed hitters in the first. Hung him a breaking ball, and he mashed it, hits a grand slam. And then, from there, everybody feels like they can hit.

“I think that’s really what happens in this game. It’s like one guy gives the next guy confidence, gives the next guy confidence. And then, all of a sudden, you’re stringing together a bunch of really good at-bats. That’s why, typically, when you score five runs, there’s times where you’re going to score more runs in one inning than the other team does the whole game. And that’s just because of the momentum of baseball. That’s what can happen.

“I don’t think it was anything. He probably didn’t have his best stuff, I would say. But I mean, I’m looking up on the board, he’s hitting 97 miles an hour. You know, it’s not like he’s throwing 87 miles an hour. He was 95, 97. I just think that we got some confidence early in the ball game, and it was just contagious.

“He didn’t have a great outing. Amp [Phillips]’ been phenomenal, and he didn’t have a great outing. It’s just baseball. Sometimes, it happens. Fortunately for us, we came out on top in a game where Amp wasn’t at its best.”

You mentioned how high-pressure the game was and how stressful it can be. What kind of qualities do the guys need to be able to get through a game like that, and what can that do for them moving forward?

“Stay loose and enjoy the competition. I mean, I think that’s the key. The teams that I’ve been around that win those games, they’re really loose in the dugout, even in those big moments. And they just enjoy the competition. They have great energy and enthusiasm for each other. They don’t get too tight and frustrated in those moments.

“This is what it’s all about. Games like tonight are really what it’s all about. It’s nerve-wracking for coaches. But in all honesty, I love games like this. Like, the more stressful the environment is, the more I like it. Just because, man, you’re in the fight, you know? I mean, you’re coaching and playing in the best league in college baseball, and you’re in a freaking knockout, drag-out brawl on a Friday night. It doesn’t get any better than that, so it’s a lot of fun.”

Cooper Parks settled things down for you there. Think it was eight or nine in a row he got at one point. What was he able to do to settle things down for you?

“He just did a good job of pounding the strike zone. Cooper’s got electric stuff. I mean, he’s another guy that’s a mid-90s fastball. I don’t know what his velocity was tonight. Again, I can’t believe I didn’t mention him.

“You got to have somebody when a starter can’t go deep, that you can stretch out. I would tell you, I wasn’t expecting him to be the guy that we were going to stretch out. I was hoping, maybe, he could give us two [innings], and then [Logan] Prisco could be the guy that we’re going to stretch out just because he’s done it. But Cooper was following the ball so well.

“I think one of the things that helped him, they had six right-handed hitters in the lineup. He’s pretty dang tough on righties, and his stuff plays pretty tough for righties to square up. The breaking ball was sharper today, and he just did a good job of executing pitches. So he was probably — him and Marlatt — for me, the best two guys of the day on the pitching staff.”

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