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UNC's Scott Forbes, Jason DeCaro and Rom Kellis after Heels roll past Campbell. #UNC
May 7, 2025
UNC's Scott Forbes, Jason DeCaro and Rom Kellis after Heels roll past Campbell. #UNC
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0:00
Yeah. What was your plan for Jason
0:02
coming into today's game? Well, we knew
0:04
it was a weird schedule from the
0:05
standpoint um th said Thursday, Friday,
0:08
Saturday. We had to go Thursday, Friday,
0:10
Sunday. Looked at the weather. Um we
0:12
were going to start him either way, but
0:14
then the we don't have the option to
0:16
play Saturday. So, as long as we could
0:18
play Sunday, we felt like he needed to
0:20
start. You know, if it had been out on
0:22
Sunday, we would have started him been
0:23
napped on Sunday just because he hadn't
0:25
pitched in so long. Um and it would have
0:27
been so long for him. We were thinking
0:29
75 pitches probably and I think he ended
0:31
up with 70. Uh, so I thought he was
0:33
outstanding. Um, and
0:35
Jason doesn't do well with going too
0:38
long without pitching. Some kids can
0:39
handle like Nap needed a little bit of
0:41
that rest because of his surgery, but
0:42
Jason needed to pitch today. I wouldn't
0:44
be surprised if his bo is even up more
0:47
on Sunday. So that was the plan. What's
0:48
been the big difference between since
0:50
the Duke game didn't go very well, but
0:52
the the starts since then have gone much
0:55
better. What's been the difference for
0:56
him? Number one is him. He's He's just
0:59
steady. He doesn't let one or two
1:01
outings affect his confidence. You know,
1:04
Coach Fox asked me when I was a player,
1:06
does your confidence waver with
1:08
performance? And I had to think about
1:09
that as a player. Like, yeah, you know,
1:10
it does. But he told me, I want to get
1:13
you better at that because if you work,
1:15
you should keep your confidence because
1:16
you're not you're going to be a human
1:17
being, have some bad outings. So, he
1:19
works. He's always confident. And then
1:21
coach Gains and Coach How mechanically
1:23
made a couple adjustments with them. Um,
1:25
that's where our pitching area has been
1:26
so valuable. You know, it's one thing to
1:28
have the data, but if you can't apply
1:29
the data, it doesn't matter. But through
1:31
support and generosity, we were able to
1:33
build that pitching facility. And those
1:36
two worked together and just found a
1:37
little mechanical thing that helped him
1:39
out and get more in direction and helped
1:41
all of his pitches and hold his stuff
1:42
better. You weren't worried about the
1:44
pitch count with four days rest in
1:46
between. No. No. If anything, I'm a I
1:48
think six days is too much. I would like
1:50
everybody to pitch all four. Um, that's
1:52
a challenge in college baseball is
1:54
trying to figure out how many
1:55
bullpens. Five might would be perfect,
1:58
but in my experience, four days is how
2:01
our guys have always responded better
2:03
and been sharper. So, not not at all. I
2:05
mean, honestly, Jason could have thrown
2:08
110 and then thrown 110. That's where he
2:10
is part of the season. Had you started a
2:12
weekend starter in the first game after
2:14
the exam break before like that?
2:15
Probably have. Yep. I'd have to go back
2:17
and look. Um, but I'm pretty sure the
2:19
answer to that is I'm about 99.9% sure
2:22
we have. You talk about pitching plan A,
2:24
pitching plan B. Was this plan A for the
2:26
bullpen today? Yeah, I mean, pretty
2:28
much. Um, you know, all these guys,
2:31
everybody, nobody had pitched for a
2:33
week, so we had everybody available. Um,
2:37
but it ended up going, we wanted to to
2:39
not pitch McDuffy unless we absolutely
2:41
had to. Um, but other than that, we'd
2:44
like to get some more guys in there, but
2:45
it just kind of guys pitch that well and
2:48
it goes that quick. Uh, you know, just
2:51
it's plan A cuz we we won and we won
2:53
big. Double digit strikeouts, no walks.
2:56
I didn't even look at no walks. Um, I
2:58
looked at the fact that we only had two
2:59
strikeouts as offense till the last
3:00
inning. So, I'm going have to give those
3:01
three guys a hard time. Um, but yeah,
3:04
that's the I mean, no walks and a lot of
3:05
strikeouts. I thought everybody threw
3:07
well out of the bullpen. I know we've uh
3:09
coach Gaines and Coach House worked
3:11
really hard with C Graves because his
3:12
splits have been kind of backwards. He's
3:15
been way better against lefties than
3:16
righties and they think they found some
3:18
and I thought he looked really good
3:19
today as well as Lynch and and Bolton
3:24
Rom DH has been kind of a carousel. Is
3:27
it still going to be matchup based or
3:30
did he sort of separate himself a little
3:31
bit? Um I wouldn't say it'll be matchup
3:33
based at times. you know, we we do go
3:36
based on the matchup, but um you know, I
3:40
also go with what my gut is and what I
3:41
see every day and and where kids
3:43
confidence level is. Um you know, it's a
3:46
credit to Ron though because it's not
3:48
easy to handle when you played every day
3:50
at junior college, you'd have that type
3:51
of success and put up those numbers,
3:53
then had the fall and the preeason, but
3:55
he stayed with it. Um I told him early
3:57
on, it's the best thing that ever
3:58
happened to you if you can handle it and
4:00
move on. And what you saw is like there
4:03
aren't many kids that can do that. I
4:05
told him that was a Matt Corvette swing
4:07
where you're just fooled and you just
4:08
get the head out and you have so much
4:10
strength. Uh so I have a feeling he's
4:12
going to get hot. Bottom of the lineup
4:15
so productive tonight. What does it say
4:16
to this offense to have those three guys
4:18
at the bottom to be able to produce like
4:20
that when maybe some of the top isn't?
4:23
Yeah, I mean you got to have
4:24
distribution throughout the order. Um
4:26
you want your guys to be your guys, but
4:27
it's just hitting's hard. Um, and we
4:30
have that speed down there, too, with
4:32
Madera and French. Uh, Carter's been
4:34
outstanding. Played an unbelievable left
4:36
field. He didn't get the bunt down, but
4:37
he's gotten every other bunt down. He's
4:39
a tough kid. He didn't let it affect
4:41
him, and he had what, two hits, I think.
4:42
And, uh, Carter can hit anybody's fast
4:44
ball, and that's what you want at the
4:46
bottom. And Madera's older and can run.
4:48
And then obviously our DH has been
4:50
better. You know, even Angelo when he's
4:52
been in there, at least he's been in
4:53
there. And so, we have more options at
4:55
this point than we had. Sorry, Black
4:57
took BP today, which was good for him to
4:59
have him hopefully available pretty
5:01
soon. How does the recovery process work
5:04
for a Himeid injury and getting him back
5:06
to take BP and then get adjusted for
5:08
live fishing? It's individual. Um, you
5:10
know, it's just a matter of when the bat
5:12
speed's there. He can he swung today
5:14
live in BP. Um, but we'll know. You
5:17
know, the ball be jumping, the ball be
5:18
going over the wall cuz he's got power
5:20
and we won't rush him back. Have you
5:21
seen a guy be a pitch magnet like Kane
5:24
is? Man, we I mean Reed Frunk, I'd like
5:27
to go look at what he did in 2007. 21.
5:30
He had 21. Came past him today. So, I
5:33
mean, obviously that was back when we
5:35
had the You could lean in, too. Like,
5:37
you can't lean in now. So, like I was
5:39
one of those when I played. If I got two
5:40
strikes, I wasn't very good hitter, so I
5:41
just lean in and try to get hit by a
5:42
pitch. Um, but Franc was really good.
5:45
Datress was pretty good at it. Um, but
5:47
man, yeah, that kid, boy, he he freaking
5:50
brings it every day. He's unbelievable.
5:52
Can you speak overall about the NC State
5:54
series? Obviously, the top of the
5:55
conference is so bunched. It's a huge
5:57
series. Yeah, you know, um I told and
6:00
and you know, I made a mistake my my
6:02
first year of just saying, you know,
6:03
every game's the same, but it's not. And
6:06
you learn things as a head coach. It's a
6:08
rivalry series. You look at the schedule
6:10
early on. If you're in a good place, you
6:12
hope that both teams are good. You hope
6:14
that the place is packed because that's
6:16
why you come to University of North
6:17
Carolina. So, I just told the guys like
6:19
I'm excited for them because they put
6:21
themselves in this position. Um, and
6:23
it's their time, you know, as a coach. I
6:25
at this point I'll get them ready in
6:27
practice tomorrow and I'll just sit
6:28
there and watch them play and I remind
6:30
them, go after, be aggressive. This is
6:32
why you do it and it's going to be
6:33
awesome.
6:35
Thanks, coach. Thanks, coach. Thank you.
6:40
Cut. I'm looking forward to watching
6:42
your interview, buddy.
6:45
Yeah. Yeah. stuff.
6:49
Got to make the monopod. All right. When
6:50
you have a weekend off, how do you
6:53
mentally adjust? How do you stay in the
6:56
bullpin to just kind of get yourself
6:57
ready, especially with the Tuesday and
6:59
then the Sunday? Um, you know, we threw
7:01
a sing game on Friday. And the big focus
7:05
on that was trying to make it as game
7:06
like as possible. Um, we didn't throw a
7:08
ton of pitches, but just really trying
7:11
to get
7:13
into the same routine that we've been in
7:15
for the last however many weeks. But,
7:17
uh, I thought that was really helpful.
7:19
And then also today, like I definitely
7:22
wanted to throw today. Um, when that
7:24
idea was brought up, felt like last year
7:27
after the break, I was a little shaky
7:29
the week after. Um, and I was pretty
7:33
excited when I heard that there was a
7:34
chance like a Thursday. with the sim
7:36
game. Do you think that gives you kind
7:37
of more of an opportunity to get that in
7:40
and in coaching from coach Haynes or do
7:42
they just kind of do hands off? Um he's
7:45
definitely talking to us during the
7:46
games. Um especially on in the same
7:49
game. Um you know it's not just inning
7:51
to inning too. Sometimes it's batter to
7:53
batter, pitch to pitch out there. Um but
7:56
yeah, it's definitely helpful out there.
8:00
Obviously the Duke game didn't go like
8:02
you would have wanted. What's been the
8:04
difference since then? and you really
8:06
pitched well the last few starts. Um I
8:09
think the biggest difference is just you
8:11
know mentally
8:13
just give up a couple runs got to move
8:15
past it. I felt like that game I didn't
8:17
do a great job with that. Um kind of got
8:20
a little frustrated which
8:23
uh don't usually do in the middle of the
8:25
game. Um I felt like I kind of lost
8:28
myself a little bit there. So just
8:29
really trying to focus mentally on just
8:31
staying present, being where my feet are
8:33
during the game. So, the same pitching
8:36
strategy, it's just it's just between
8:37
your ears is what you're saying. Yes,
8:39
sir. What are some mental coping
8:41
mechanisms you have to use during a game
8:43
when it's not going your way? Um, in
8:45
between every at bat, I try and step
8:47
off, take a deep breath, and just really
8:49
try to focus on like where I am right
8:51
there. Um, that's really been helpful.
8:54
Um, in between innings, same thing. Just
8:57
take a second in the dugout to just sit
8:58
down, catch your breath, and like
9:00
realize where you are at that moment.
9:03
been doing that recently. It's been
9:05
pretty helpful. What was your pitching
9:07
plan today? Knowing that you were on a
9:08
little bit of a shorter pitch count, was
9:10
there anything in particular you were
9:12
focusing on? Not really. Just going
9:14
after him and establishing the fast ball
9:15
early for this entire pitching staff. I
9:18
mean, coach talked about it. No walks.
9:20
How big is that for you guys? That's
9:22
awesome. I mean, our game plan going in,
9:23
like I said, was to just go after him
9:25
and uh I think that just shows that we
9:28
executed pretty well. Then pitching on
9:30
four days rest. Uh, how do you feel
9:32
about that? No big deal. I'd pitch
9:34
tomorrow if you let me.
9:37
So, so that So, you you didn't like in
9:39
your back of your mind, oh god, I got to
9:41
come back and pitch Sunday. No, I uh I
9:44
did it one time last year in the
9:46
beginning of the year. We went Tuesday,
9:48
Sunday, and was perfectly fine with it.
9:51
So, I was fine. Does it change any of
9:54
your recovery during the week? Uh yeah,
9:56
it changes like I guess the lifting
9:59
schedule in between uh starts. I guess
10:02
throwing a little bit too. Can't take a
10:04
day off after a start tomorrow uh
10:06
because I have to be ready to go Sunday,
10:08
but not not it's not a huge difference.
10:14
Thanks, Jason. Thanks. Appreciate it.
10:15
Thank you guys. That's the question I
10:17
was going to
10:18
ask. shortage.
10:24
All right, Rom, you looked pretty
10:25
animated running the bases on that
10:27
homer. Can you just kind of take me
10:28
through what you saw and then thoughts
10:30
and feelings as that happened? Uh, well,
10:32
two strikes. I right before that pitch,
10:34
I said, I'm going to be as short as I
10:36
possibly can in this pitch. I'm not
10:37
going to try to do too much. Um, that's
10:40
just God making the ball fly like that.
10:41
You know, he's he's had my back through
10:43
this. And what's what you see come out
10:44
right there is just, you know, you go
10:47
through a good preseason uh starting
10:50
open day lineup and then you kind of you
10:52
have to sit down and be a good teammate.
10:54
And I wasn't that wasn't hard for me.
10:55
You know, I just that was what I wanted
10:57
to do. I wasn't, you know, I didn't wish
10:59
anything different for myself. Um I just
11:01
wish that we would win and that's what
11:03
we've done and he put me in the D8 spot
11:05
and I was just going to play like a kid.
11:07
How do you stay locked in when you don't
11:09
really know exactly when you're going to
11:10
get your playing time or how much? by
11:12
not worrying about it. I only care about
11:14
winning. I only care about cheering my
11:15
guys on. Um I don't I don't put too much
11:18
emphasis on that at all. I'm just ready
11:20
because if he calls on me, he thinks I
11:21
have the best shots. And then the bottom
11:23
of the lineup really productive tonight
11:25
hitting next to Alex and Carter. Can you
11:27
just kind of take me through what's that
11:28
what that is like? I mean, bottom of the
11:31
order. I think we're all pretty good at
11:32
hitting a good fast ball. So, um I I
11:35
just think that playing with those guys
11:37
and and there Madera, he sees a lot of
11:39
pitches, so it's good for me to hit
11:40
behind him, you know, he sees a lot of
11:42
pitches, I get a good idea of what I'm
11:44
about to see. And you know, Carter
11:45
French, like I just said, he gets to a
11:47
good fast ball, he gets good swings off
11:48
when I ever seem to be on base. So,
11:50
yeah. Preparation, knowing you're going
11:52
to start, get several at bats versus
11:55
you're up pinch hitting. Just sort of
11:57
walk walk us through that mindset there.
12:00
To be honest with you, I I I'm just
12:03
being honest. Like I I train the I I do
12:05
BP the same way I would if I wasn't
12:07
starting. So the preparation is really
12:08
not much different. I try to keep my
12:10
brain waves as level as they can be and
12:13
um give myself, you know, the best
12:14
chance to be ready for the game whether
12:16
I'm in the lineup or not and just put
12:17
together a good BP and stay loose and
12:19
relax. When do you find out that you're
12:21
starting? Uh well, in this case, Coach
12:24
Forbes, I talked to him last night a
12:26
little bit and um he had told me, but
12:28
that's a rare case. Um, but usually I'll
12:31
find out after BP, I would say. How have
12:34
you mentored the younger guys not
12:36
playing every day? Oh man, honestly,
12:38
just talking to them. I love to talk to
12:40
them guys cuz I went through the same
12:41
thing. You know, I had to leave Auburn
12:43
and go to a junior college and, um, that
12:46
was a tough experience, but it was my
12:47
greatest experience. But um I just feel
12:50
like I I don't have a you know I'm not
12:51
going to say a lot to give them but um I
12:54
feel like I I know the feeling that they
12:56
have and I just remind them the
12:58
importance of their character and who
12:59
they are outlast this stuff. You know
13:01
it's worrying about your performance and
13:03
whether you're playing is all crap and
13:05
what matters is who you are and how
13:07
you're looking at the situation. So yeah
13:09
from Auburn to junior college to here. I
13:12
mean that's very much a hard journey.
13:13
Jake Knap had a similar one. What do you
13:15
think that's taught you when you kind of
13:17
talk about it? How are you trying to
13:18
impart that wisdom not just on some of
13:20
the younger guys but even some of the
13:21
older ones? Man, that's that's a loaded
13:25
question. Um God God's really been with
13:27
me through all of this and um my my
13:31
experience is definitely unique. NAP
13:32
understands it. Um but the reality is
13:36
like you at some point no matter where
13:38
you're at, you're going to have to learn
13:38
to play this game fun and be the same
13:40
guy every day. And that's what I have
13:41
been, you know, and I've grown, you
13:43
know, I haven't been the same guy. It's
13:45
been tough, but um you know, my
13:47
experience, I wouldn't change it for the
13:49
world because it's built some resilience
13:50
in me and you know, I don't know if I
13:53
could be the same guy when I'm not
13:54
playing if I didn't go through all that.
13:55
So, um I try to just be a lead by
13:58
example. Those guys knows what I know
13:59
what I've been through, know what I'm
14:00
capable of and um you know, if I'm
14:03
having a good attitude, they're going to
14:04
see that. So,
14:06
thanks Rob. Thank you.