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UNC coach Scott Forbes and shortstop Alex Madera after season-ending loss to Arizona. #UNC
Jun 8, 2025
UNC coach Scott Forbes and shortstop Alex Madera after season-ending loss to Arizona. #UNC
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0:02
hard to say much at all obviously. Um,
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first thing I want to do is congratulate
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uh
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Arizona. Um, they played tough the whole
0:12
weekend. Obviously, we jumped on that
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first game, but they have a really good
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team. Uh, they're extremely well
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coached.
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Um, you know, they they found a way to
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win that game. So, I want to
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congratulate them. I told them how hard
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it is to get out there when they get out
0:30
there to to soak it in and enjoy it.
0:32
[Music]
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Um, so I have written on my game card uh
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a Bible verse that I look at all the
0:40
time, so I'm going to revert to that.
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I'm not a very emotional person, so I
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may get a little emotional today because
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that's a special team in there. Um, just
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says be thankful in all circumstances,
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which can be extremely difficult to do.
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Um, but that's what I'm going to hold on
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to and cling
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to because that's just a really special
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group
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um in there. And to see them hurting
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obviously is the reason for the tears
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and I apologize for those. But I've been
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a player, been a coach a long time. Uh,
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you know, sports will will rip your
1:22
heart out sometime. But what I'm most
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thankful for and what our staff is most
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thankful for is how our players played.
1:29
Um how they conducted themselves the
1:31
entire season. Um they have nothing at
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all to hang their heads about. Um they
1:37
represented this university. They
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represented our program in an absolute
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first class manner. Um, you know, our
1:45
our staff, our job as coaches was
1:48
extremely easy this season. Um, because
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of the leadership we have in that locker
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room, uh, and the work that the
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players put in. Um, and the longer you
2:00
coach, uh, the more you should realize
2:03
is completely and only about your
2:06
players. So,
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uh, you know, I'm I'm I'm I'm extremely
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heartbroken for them. Um, selfishly
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heartbroken because I don't get to put
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this uniform on with them again and uh
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take them to the College World Series.
2:22
But they have so much to be proud of.
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Uh, they should walk out of here. Um, we
2:27
define success as a team doing the best
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you can do with what you have and every
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every single one of those guys has done
2:33
that. Questions. have in person.
2:36
Scott, obviously the the double play
2:38
ball in the the eighth inning turned out
2:40
to be a costly mistake. What did you see
2:43
there um in terms of why that happened
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and and did you have any words for for
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Van Break afterwards? Yeah, you
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know, no player I remind myself this all
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the time because when you play, you
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never make a mistake on purpose
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obviously. Um and our middle infield has
3:00
been phenomenal. Ball just bounced up on
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them. Um obviously he he tried to make
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the play. Uh we just have a next play
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mentality and you know the fact that we
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got out of it with two mistakes and
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still had a chance says a lot about our
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team. Um but I just hurt for for the
3:18
player always. Uh because nobody's
3:21
perfect and man they've been so good.
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But the only word of advice was just
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move on.
3:27
Ryan Lynch obviously fantastic today.
3:30
Can you just speak to his growth this
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season?
3:33
Yeah, I
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mean he he was phenomenal. He he was the
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reason we were in the position we were
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in. Uh he had complete control of the
3:43
game. Um he was attacking the strike
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zone. Coach Gains and him had a great
3:47
game plan. He was executing the pitches.
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Coach Gains was calling. He had great
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mound presence. Um and it did surprise
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me honestly because he's had those big
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starts and he's been so good for us the
3:58
last two times. Jaden
4:02
Did you think about going to Knap or
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Darro, you know, in the eighth inning to
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try and get y'all out of it? You know,
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put all the chips on the table sort of
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thing. You know, Darro threw less than
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nap. Um, they both were available in a
4:19
certain situation, but not in that
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situation. We had to have uh late maybe
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the ninth inning. You know, you have to
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keep the health. Both those guys are
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going to be big leaguers.
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um you know, Aiden a little less w wear
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and tear. And we also know how all of
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our guys recover, so you have to take
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that into account. Uh and no doubt in my
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mind, it was the right move with with
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Aiden. He just let one change up up, the
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other change up, you know, got a swing
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and miss and need a change up against
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that guy. He's a heck of a hitter.
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Grace, coach, can you just talk about I
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mean this season with this group of
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veterans like Alex and
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Jackson, Jake, Hunter, how's that been?
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phenomenal. I
5:01
mean, you know, you hope you're
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surrounded by kids that you love being
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around every single day. And, you know,
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this group, I mean, there wasn't a day
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that I wasn't smiling, having a blast,
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and that that was because of them.
5:20
Scott, did you think about leaving Lynch
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in in the eighth inning? I I know he was
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getting he was his pitch count was
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getting up a little bit, but He had
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rolled the ball that that you know what
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I'm saying? Like was that a was that a
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hard decision for you to make? No, you
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know, he was he was his velocity was
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dropping pretty good. He still had sink
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on the ball. Um and we knew they were
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going to bunt right there. Um and that's
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something that Ryan has to get much
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better on. Hunter made a really good
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play on the bunt or the uh swinging bunt
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earlier. Um so we also know our our
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pitchers who's good at hopping off the
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mound, who's better at fielding their
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position. Um and 100% they were going to
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bunt. Walker's one of our best fielders
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on PFP and bunts and uh you know the
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hitter dropped down a good bunt and
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Gavin makes that play in his sleep and
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unfortunately we just didn't make it.
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Tommy Alex I know is fresh but just the
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journey um baseball's cruel sport but
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your journey here at Carolina has been
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pretty special. Yeah. Um you know
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obviously just super thankful for the
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opportunity um to play here and you know
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I mean that's pretty much all I can say.
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is just thankful for the opportunity. I
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mean, the fans, coaching staff, players,
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you know, it's just everybody in
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between. I mean, just so thankful.
6:33
Um, Alex, can you talk about your kind
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of immediate emotions, reactions on the
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game and kind of conversations you've
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had with the team? Um, you know, haven't
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had many conversations yet. Um, trying
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not to honestly. Um, but you know,
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obviously sad. Don't know if that's your
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last game playing baseball ever. Um, you
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know, just kind of a lot of emotions.
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Alex, if you can speak to it, could you
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just talk about what you were seeing?
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Yeah. Um, you know, I mean, it happens
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the game in baseball. Um, you know, it
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is what it is. Obviously, any one of
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those guys wants to make the play be the
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guy. Um, I had an opportunity in the
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eighth inning to, you know, hit in a run
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and I didn't do it either. So, you know,
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obviously everybody wants to be, you
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know, that guy to to do it, but you
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know, things happen and so they went.
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Anybody else? Adam and Rob. Rob, go if
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you want to. Go ahead, Adam. uh for both
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of you guys just again I know it's very
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fresh but the journey as a whole for for
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this team after replacing the entire
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outfield from from the college series
7:44
team last year I mean you know there's
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so many differences but you're right
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here on the doorstep of getting back
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there just I mean what can you speak to
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the journey that this group has been on
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just for both guys? Yeah, I mean it's
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obviously every journey is different,
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but it's so much fun. Um, you know, you
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create a b a bond and a and a
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brotherhood with with these guys and,
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you know, I go to battle with these guys
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any day of the week. Um, you know,
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obviously we came up short today, but
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you know, I don't think that shows, you
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know, the work we put in all season to
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get to this point. Um, you know,
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obviously the goal is to get to Omaha
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and win that national championship, but,
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you know, we just came up a little
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short.
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Yeah, I would just say again,
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thankfulness. Just uh it's one of our
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pillars, you know, just thankful to even
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be in this opportunity. Uh it sucks and
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it and it hurts uh when you don't take
8:30
the next step. Uh but you want to be in
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those opportunities and uh Carolina
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baseball's been a lot of them, been in a
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lot of them, won a lot of them. We've
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lost some tough ones. Uh, but the
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journey, you know, the the the joy of of
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coaching to me is helping the team that
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you have that year have the most success
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they can possibly have because every
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team is different. Um, and to see these
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guys with what you said about some of
8:57
the losses,
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um, start figuring out what their
9:00
identity was, uh, playing to those
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strengths and being so coachable is why
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they made it this far. Last one, Rod.
9:08
Scott, eighth inning aside, what were
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some of the other differences you
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noticed as far as throughout the game
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that couldn't quite get you off? Yeah,
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you know, we had some chance to add to
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our lead.
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Um, you know, unfortunately, a couple
9:21
double plays. Uh, and again, that's the
9:24
game of baseball. You got to capitalize
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and the team that capitalizes the most
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usually comes out on top. I thought both
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teams were having really competitive at
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bats. Um, I thought our guys were having
9:36
great at bats one after the other. Hit a
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couple balls hard that didn't find find
9:40
the grass unfortunately. And sometimes
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you need, you know, when you get in
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those situations, you can add one more
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or add two more. The more length you
9:49
get, uh, the harder it is in the other
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dugout. Um, so it wasn't just the
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mistakes on defense. It was it was you
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win as a team and you lose as a team and
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unfortunately we lost as a team. Thank
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you, gentlemen. Thank you.