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Several of North Carolina’s players spoke to the media after the Tar Heels defeated Ole Miss 6-2 on the opening day of the College World Series.
The Tar Heels were powered by strong pitching performances from Jason DeCaro, who struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings, and Caden Glauber, who recorded two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. Catcher Colin Hynek’s three-run homer in the eighth inning sealed the win for North Carolina.
Here’s what Jason DeCaro, Owen Hull and Colin Hynek had to say after the game.
OWEN HULL: First of all, that pitch was really good. The whole Ole Miss team is very good. So we came in with a game plan. And, yeah, we tried to execute every at-bat. I was sitting on heater. I got one up in the zone, so I put a good swing on it. Credit to Jason here, great pitcher. I’m really happy to have him on our team. And he did really well. And then Colin with the three-run blast was pretty cool. I was very excited for him.
COLIN HYNEK: Coming off the mound, I just told him just simply good job, did a good job of bouncing back, getting the next guy and getting us in the dugout. And then just going into the ninth inning, was just you know, go out there and be yourself. He’s one of the best pitchers in the country. So there’s no reason to not act like it for him. So anytime he’s on the mound, we trust him. As long as he’s himself, he’s pretty much unhittable.
JASON DECARO: Yeah, absolutely. Just trying to slow myself down a little bit. We talked earlier in the week about how we’re taking it one pitch at a time. I feel like I did a pretty good job with that. And then credit to the offense finding a way in the end there. Just happy to pull this one out.
OWEN HULL: 100 percent, yeah, we’ve got a really special offense, and we’re going to keep being gritty. And, yeah, we got his pitch count up pretty high. And that’s what our goal was. He’s a really good pitcher. He’s going to go pretty high in the draft this year. I expect for him to. And, yeah, we knew we would get to him eventually and we just that.
COLIN HYNEK: Yeah, like what Owen said, we know that we’re never out of the fight especially with our pitching staff. That’s two games in a row that we’ve been pretty slow offensively until the end of the game and they’ve just held it in there until we could finally break through. I thought we were putting together some solid at-bats, like Coach Forbes said, just couldn’t get the big hit. Kind of like he says, we don’t look at the scoreboard, we just keep playing, stick to our process and see where we’re at at the end of the game.
OWEN HULL: Yeah, he’s very mature for a freshman. I’m really happy to have him out in outfield. He’s a great player but he is also a great person off the field, and it’s really cool to be around him in the locker room as well.
COLIN HYNEK: Again, to echo Owen, the kid works his butt off. Multiple times in the last couple weeks he’s been working on some things with Coach Wierz. And he’s the first guy back in the cage getting some extra work in, whether that be off the tee, whether it’s a drill that he’s trying to implement into his routine. So it’s not really a shock that the kid’s come up big. You look at some big other moments this year, that kid just kind of has a knack for it.
OWEN HULL: That’s a secret. But we got our pitcher’s back. He’s working out there today and we knew that we had to get his back.
COLIN HYNEK: Yeah, I guess it’s a secret.
COLIN HYNEK: Going into the at-bat, they took the visit, and Coach Wierz was just letting me know from the dugout, obviously we’ve got our scouting reports. The guy has a change-up that he likes to throw. It’s a pretty good pitch. So couldn’t play with him down at the bottom of the zone, so I was trying to see him up. And when I saw the change-up start up just got a swing off. And, yeah, seeing it go over is a pretty cool feeling to homer here. But, yeah, just stuck to my plan.
JASON DECARO: Just being a better job executing when I’m ahead in the count. I feel like even in those starts, I was ahead a lot and just didn’t make my pitch enough. Got punished for that. But that’s been a big focus for me over the last three or four weeks. And I feel like definitely doing a better job with that.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Baseball: What the players said after CWS opener
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The Tar Heels were powered by strong pitching performances from Jason DeCaro, who struck out nine in 6 2/3 innings, and Caden Glauber, who recorded two strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings. Catcher Colin Hynek’s three-run homer in the eighth inning sealed the win for North Carolina.
Here’s what Jason DeCaro, Owen Hull and Colin Hynek had to say after the game.
Owen, tell me about the blast. What were you looking for? And was there kind of a tension there going into that at that because you guys couldn’t get anything going?
OWEN HULL: First of all, that pitch was really good. The whole Ole Miss team is very good. So we came in with a game plan. And, yeah, we tried to execute every at-bat. I was sitting on heater. I got one up in the zone, so I put a good swing on it. Credit to Jason here, great pitcher. I’m really happy to have him on our team. And he did really well. And then Colin with the three-run blast was pretty cool. I was very excited for him.
Colin, after the 3-0 hit given up by Caden, walking off the mound, you met him halfway. Was there a message to Caden about just calming down, big moment for a high school senior, really, but now a freshman, heading into that ninth inning?
COLIN HYNEK: Coming off the mound, I just told him just simply good job, did a good job of bouncing back, getting the next guy and getting us in the dugout. And then just going into the ninth inning, was just you know, go out there and be yourself. He’s one of the best pitchers in the country. So there’s no reason to not act like it for him. So anytime he’s on the mound, we trust him. As long as he’s himself, he’s pretty much unhittable.
Jason, that’s two starts in Omaha with one run each. Did you take anything from your Virginia start two years ago into tonight? And if so, what was that?
JASON DECARO: Yeah, absolutely. Just trying to slow myself down a little bit. We talked earlier in the week about how we’re taking it one pitch at a time. I feel like I did a pretty good job with that. And then credit to the offense finding a way in the end there. Just happy to pull this one out.
Owen and Colin, early on you guys were able to put the pressure on with walks. Did you guys feel that any time in the game you were going to break it open with the bats?
OWEN HULL: 100 percent, yeah, we’ve got a really special offense, and we’re going to keep being gritty. And, yeah, we got his pitch count up pretty high. And that’s what our goal was. He’s a really good pitcher. He’s going to go pretty high in the draft this year. I expect for him to. And, yeah, we knew we would get to him eventually and we just that.
COLIN HYNEK: Yeah, like what Owen said, we know that we’re never out of the fight especially with our pitching staff. That’s two games in a row that we’ve been pretty slow offensively until the end of the game and they’ve just held it in there until we could finally break through. I thought we were putting together some solid at-bats, like Coach Forbes said, just couldn’t get the big hit. Kind of like he says, we don’t look at the scoreboard, we just keep playing, stick to our process and see where we’re at at the end of the game.
There’s a third H that had a big moment tonight, couple big moments with Tyler Howe. And it feels like maybe he probably gets overlooked a little bit here. But he started the rally in the seventh and then played a key part in the eighth inning rally as well. Talk to me about his development over the course of the year because he’s had his ups and downs as a freshman but he’s had some big-time at-bats?
OWEN HULL: Yeah, he’s very mature for a freshman. I’m really happy to have him out in outfield. He’s a great player but he is also a great person off the field, and it’s really cool to be around him in the locker room as well.
COLIN HYNEK: Again, to echo Owen, the kid works his butt off. Multiple times in the last couple weeks he’s been working on some things with Coach Wierz. And he’s the first guy back in the cage getting some extra work in, whether that be off the tee, whether it’s a drill that he’s trying to implement into his routine. So it’s not really a shock that the kid’s come up big. You look at some big other moments this year, that kid just kind of has a knack for it.
After Jason got out in the sixth inning he gave that big fist pump coming off the mound, let’s go. It looked like you guys had kind of a meeting in the dugout. At least that’s what it showed on the TV. What was discussed in the meeting obviously it led to a good result because he hit the home run the next at-bat?
OWEN HULL: That’s a secret. But we got our pitcher’s back. He’s working out there today and we knew that we had to get his back.
COLIN HYNEK: Yeah, I guess it’s a secret.
All things considered, Caden probably doesn’t need three runs of insurance there in the ninth, but what was going through your head in the eighth inning at-bat, putting three runs up on the board?
COLIN HYNEK: Going into the at-bat, they took the visit, and Coach Wierz was just letting me know from the dugout, obviously we’ve got our scouting reports. The guy has a change-up that he likes to throw. It’s a pretty good pitch. So couldn’t play with him down at the bottom of the zone, so I was trying to see him up. And when I saw the change-up start up just got a swing off. And, yeah, seeing it go over is a pretty cool feeling to homer here. But, yeah, just stuck to my plan.
Jason, after a couple of starts after against Virginia Tech and ECU that maybe weren’t your favorite, that’s 17 strikeouts compared to just seven hits in your last two outings. What’s gone right for you? Do you like playing on the big stage, or what have you found recently that’s being working?
JASON DECARO: Just being a better job executing when I’m ahead in the count. I feel like even in those starts, I was ahead a lot and just didn’t make my pitch enough. Got punished for that. But that’s been a big focus for me over the last three or four weeks. And I feel like definitely doing a better job with that.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Baseball: What the players said after CWS opener
Continue reading...
