Up next in 10
#UNC coach Scott Forbes after Tar Heels lose series finale against Miami
Mar 30, 2025
#UNC coach Scott Forbes after Tar Heels lose series finale against Miami
View Video Transcript
0:00
All
0:01
right, everybody good? I'll start with
0:03
that first. Um, beautiful Sunday, great
0:05
crowd. Thankful for that. Um, honestly,
0:09
I'm just thankful that we won the series
0:11
cuz I'm not sure if we hit over 200. I
0:13
know they probably didn't either. Uh,
0:16
but at the end of the day, we won the
0:18
series, had a chance to sweep, didn't
0:20
get it done. Um, I
0:22
still don't think we're playing close to
0:25
what we're capable of playing top to
0:27
bottom. Obviously, everybody's going to
0:28
talk about the offense and uh they're
0:30
not wrong from the standpoint we haven't
0:32
sworn the bats very well, especially in
0:34
ACC play, but we've still managed to win
0:36
games, won two or four series, told the
0:38
guys today we're 21 and seven, and we
0:40
just haven't played that well. So, take
0:42
that for what you want to, but we're
0:43
going to start playing better. We got a
0:45
great group. Uh I thought we pitched the
0:46
heck out of it. Um and they they got it
0:49
done today. They played a little bit
0:50
better than we did, and so credit to
0:52
them. What do you think is the biggest
0:53
kind of hurdle for the guys at the plate
0:55
offensively? I mean, if I if I had the
0:58
answer to that, man, as a baseball
1:01
coach, just to to get those hitters
1:03
going that fast, it's contagious. Um,
1:06
and this weekend, I mean, I don't know
1:07
off top of my head, but I don't know if
1:09
Luke and Keley at the top, I I I don't
1:13
think they got on base much, and I don't
1:15
think they had many hits. Um, you got to
1:17
be careful chasing hits, but I would
1:19
venture to say that they did kept even
1:21
have a hit. Y'all know better than me. I
1:23
wouldn't think so. and and and that's
1:25
that's where I'm saying like, okay,
1:26
well, some other guys did enough and we
1:28
pitched it enough and we picked it up
1:29
enough um to find a way. So, uh I don't
1:34
think there's you just I'm one of those
1:36
that I'm not going to over analyze it.
1:38
We're just going to go back to work
1:38
tomorrow and do what we've done, work
1:40
with our guys, not overthink video, and
1:44
just keep working. What does it say
1:46
about these this pitching rotation,
1:48
these starters, because they seem to be
1:49
playing with such kind of a razor thin
1:51
margin for error? Yeah, they're all
1:53
right with it. Um, you know, and we've
1:56
won games in different ways. I explained
1:57
to the guys down there, you know, you go
2:00
back and one of the better teams we beat
2:01
early on was Kansas State. We won 12 to
2:03
nine. Um, so we have found different
2:05
ways to to win. We found different ways
2:08
to lose. It just seems like when we have
2:10
lost, we have not scored at all. Um, but
2:13
we've also not made some plays, had some
2:15
bad base running, uh, given them extra
2:18
outs. Uh, but our pitchers are going to
2:21
give us a chance. The pitching staff
2:23
starting to come together. Um, I thought
2:26
Fulier looked great. I thought looked
2:27
great. I just like to match up better
2:28
with Fulier um once he got
2:31
ready. Um, so I think that's a good
2:33
thing. We have a chance to win every
2:34
game. We can defend. Uh, we just have to
2:37
understand that we are where we are
2:40
offensively and we're not going to hit
2:43
340 with 100 home runs. So, what's our
2:46
identity going to be? I mean, it needs
2:47
to be just hard-nosed toughness. Just
2:49
trying to have great at bats, not
2:51
looking at your batting average and
2:52
carrying yourself the right way and
2:54
going from bat to bat. What did you see
2:56
from Walker and did you decide you were
2:58
going to leave him in when you visited
2:59
him? Yeah, I thought he looked great.
3:01
Um, you know, he had great stuff again.
3:05
Uh, you know, Gavin was in between. We
3:07
throw that ball the first. We might
3:09
walk uh right there. there. I have to go
3:11
back and look at that's a tough play
3:13
because I think the the base runner was
3:14
going to try to run as soon as he threw
3:16
the ball. Um but no, I thought he looked
3:19
great and I mean you know you're not
3:22
he's human. I mean the kids I think our
3:25
punisher hitting 140 off the guy and
3:28
their best player got a big hit when
3:30
they needed it most and I don't think he
3:31
had a hit the whole weekend. Maybe one
3:34
other one had some really rough at bats
3:36
and that's what it takes in this league.
3:38
I mean, you usually go out there with a
3:40
hook, but Oh, I was I wasn't even
3:41
talking to him about pitching. I was
3:42
talking to him about our defense and
3:43
trying to defend the safety. We thought
3:45
that left-handed hitter was going to
3:46
safety. Uh, so we put a play on to to
3:48
defend that and um, you know, we got two
3:51
strikes on. We hit that ground ball to
3:53
Gavin. We didn't grab any type of out.
3:56
Uh, and that that hurt us a little bit,
3:58
but we'll learn from it and move on. But
4:00
it was I was never thinking about taking
4:01
them out. What do you kind of say to the
4:03
offense when is it an encouraging thing
4:05
that they only have four strikeouts yet
4:08
they're not always getting the ball in
4:09
those gaps? I would definitely say
4:11
that's encouraging because if you're not
4:14
getting hits and you're striking out all
4:16
the time, that's a really bad
4:17
combination. Um, so really hitting, you
4:20
know, that's where playing uh coaching
4:23
long
4:24
enough, you know, people think I'm just
4:26
going to rip them. I'm going to get
4:28
hitting's
4:29
hard and if
4:31
anything guys just start pressing and
4:34
they start looking at their batting
4:35
average. So more just saying hey guys
4:37
like your batting average starts today
4:38
and the next day your batting average
4:40
starts today instead of trying to climb
4:42
out of a hole if you think you're going
4:43
to if you're hitting 210 and you think
4:45
you're going to hit 420 on the season
4:47
it's not going to happen. So I believe
4:49
hitting being a hitting coach you look
4:52
at it in the major league it's the one
4:53
is the hardest thing to do because you
4:55
fail the most. So the feedback we get
4:57
from major leaguers that have played
4:59
here are ones we talked to the best
5:00
hitting coaches and best coaches it's
5:02
just not that big a deal and as long as
5:04
there's effort as long as they're
5:05
competing um you know cuz if you're
5:07
yelling and you're negative it just
5:09
doesn't work in this sport. Similarly
5:11
like I mean you've talked in the past
5:12
about you know coming back from a
5:14
stellar freshman season to a sophomore
5:15
year and just kind of replicating that
5:18
success with Gavin in particular. Just
5:19
kind of what are you seeing right now
5:21
with the approach up there? He's
5:23
struggling. Um, you know, he he's
5:26
definitely he's been pressing and but
5:29
you know, these guys find out quickly.
5:31
You get pitched different, too, when
5:33
you've been in the league longer. I
5:34
mean, I was a pitching coach a long
5:35
time. My my goal is to figure you out,
5:38
to find your holes. Um, and there's a
5:40
difference between hitting in the four
5:41
hole and hitting in the seven hole. Uh,
5:43
because you're going to be pitched at a
5:44
higher level there, too, because of
5:46
because of your performance. So really,
5:48
I think if anything, just dealing with
5:50
the failure side of it and understanding
5:53
that, hey, it is what it is and you can
5:55
either feel sorry for yourself or and
5:57
pout about it or just get through it.
5:59
With him, you know, he hasn't been
6:01
getting the pull side nearly as much as
6:03
last year. Kind of like what's kind of
6:04
the key to unlocking that maybe a little
6:05
bit more. Teams are just, you know, just
6:08
throwing him down and away. Exactly what
6:10
I would do. And until the young man
6:12
makes the adjustment, that is what
6:14
happens. Uh, so we have to make that
6:16
adjustment because if I'm pitching to
6:18
Gavin Gallagher, I'm not going in.
6:19
That's where he wants the ball. So you
6:21
as a hitter, you have to be able to
6:22
adjust, be able to drive the ball up the
6:24
middle more and then still believe in
6:25
yourself that you can pull the ball and
6:27
pull mistakes and that's what he hasn't
6:28
done, but we'll get them there. How do
6:30
you go about making an adjustment with a
6:32
hitter such like that in practice when
6:33
you're not maybe seeing live arms? You
6:35
just work in the cages. Um, that's where
6:37
you learn and get better as a hitter. It
6:41
always takes the hitter that you're
6:44
working with to be willing sometimes to
6:47
make change. Um, and that can be hard
6:50
when you've been so talented and and
6:52
you've done it your whole life. But the
6:53
best like you know, Michael Bush, um,
6:56
you can name a ton of them. Kyle Seager
6:58
doesn't they they if you told them
7:00
here's what you need to do, they were
7:02
sponges. They were open to it. Um, and
7:04
that's that's the the best trait of
7:07
great players. They're they're extremely
7:09
coachable and they're open to change. Do
7:12
you use those examples for younger guys
7:15
that realistically think they know it
7:17
all? Absolutely. And you can show them
7:19
the best guy change. You can too. Yeah.
7:21
And we're in a different phase now. You
7:23
know, when you you've noticed things
7:25
have changed some. There's there's out
7:27
there's hitting coaches on the outside.
7:29
There's, you know, a lot of
7:31
distractions. And uh you know, I'm just
7:34
thankful that I didn't grow up in those
7:35
distractions and that Harvey Ford, bless
7:38
his heart, said, "Hey, you know,
7:40
whatever so and so tells you to do, I
7:43
would try to do it." Um and and that's
7:46
that's still though, those are examples
7:48
you use. Like that's what makes him
7:49
good. Michael Jordan, you read about
7:51
him, unbelievably coachable. Um he
7:54
didn't just wake up and be that good. So
7:56
that's what you reiterate to guys. And
7:59
unfortunately, a lot of times with
8:01
certain kids, it takes failing to be
8:03
like, "Hey, you know, like maybe I do
8:05
need to make these changes." Uh, so
8:08
that's what you're hoping will be the
8:10
case cuz I think we have great kids and
8:11
I think they're all coachable. We talked
8:13
Friday and Saturday that you got to go
8:14
to the best choice, the best option for
8:16
your pitching. You only used two
8:18
relievers in those days. Was today the
8:20
best option? And did you know that you
8:22
wanted Walker right out of the gate
8:23
after Aiden? Yeah, honestly it Aiden
8:26
wasn't as sharp as he had been. Um, and
8:29
we wanted to go to Maddie in the middle
8:32
and we felt like Walker had probably 30
8:34
to 40 pitches in the tank. Um, so it
8:37
worked out pretty good about like we
8:39
wanted to except we'd like Aiden to go a
8:42
little bit longer and then go to McDuffy
8:44
in a perfect world 89 or just nine maybe
8:48
loose fulier use Olan but Walker was our
8:52
best reliever in a high leverage
8:54
situation. Um, and he showed that I mean
8:57
but he just had to stay out there
8:59
because we had to bring him in a little
9:00
bit early probably. Did the shorter week
9:03
have any kind of bearing on bringing
9:04
Aiden in early? I don't think so. Um,
9:07
Aiden works. I mean, if anything, you
9:09
might not have quite your fast ball, but
9:11
he's still so good and gave us a chance
9:12
to win. Um, you know, but we went into
9:16
this game thinking, okay, here's it
9:18
played out about like we wanted it to,
9:20
except for the the win loss, and we
9:21
didn't score enough runs. Um, because if
9:24
we're if we have a little bit more of a
9:25
lead, we may not go to to Walker early
9:28
in that situation. Will we go to him in
9:30
the seventh? and he gets out of it.
9:32
Yeah. So, he gave us two clean innings
9:34
without a run and the goal was two
9:36
innings only, but he had to go back out
9:37
there for that third, unfortunately.
9:41
Thanks, coach. Thank y'all. Y'all good
9:42
y'all see