Augustana
Head coach Tim Huber
“This is pretty humbling to get to this point, 3-0 at the national tournament and getting to a national championship game. Today’s game was just kind of what we’ve been doing – scrapped and battled and clawed. We got a couple of big hits and Tyler pitched great again, which I guess is no surprise the way it’s been going for him. We just did what we needed to do to take care of business.”
“(On being seeded fifth in regional and championship) “Once you get to the regional, once you get to the world series, it doesn’t matter who is what seed because you know everybody’s good. … Have we proved something to some people? I guess we have. So yea, chip on the shoulder, whatever you want to call it. We’ve just found a way to go out and play good baseball.”
Catcher Ryan Menssen
“It’s fun when you can go one thru nine in the order and everybody get a big hit in any situation. We’ve had our three, four, five guys picking us up all year. So I just do whatever I can to get on base.”
(On impact of three days off) “I’m pretty familiar with the hotel room, I know that. … We’ve been doing it all year. During the season, you get some days off. When you set foot on that field, you’re locked in and ready to go.”
“There’s a big group of people behind us, like all our folks back in Sioux Falls. We’ve got alumni texting us every day. We’re here now, but we didn’t get here alone. We’ve got a huge support group behind us.”
Outfielder Michael Svozil
“Guys one thru nine can hit, so it gives you a lot of confidence. Guys are going to pick you up even if you don’t do well.”
Starting pitcher Tyler Mitzel
“Obviously the confidence increases when you have bats like ours putting up runs. It makes it easier to throw out there. … Southern New Hampshire is a good team, and I knew they would barrel some balls. You just have to let it happen and keep competing.”
Southern New Hampshire
Head coach Scott Loiseau
“Augustana did a good job. They beat us today. There’s really not much more to say than that. They pitched better. They hit in spots. They beat us.”
“Their second inning – their three-run inning – was two outs no one on, and then I’m pretty sure their next one that they scored (actually the sixth inning) was two outs no one on. So the difference is those guys extended some innings. And their kid, Svozil, he killed us. He played really well. His double in the gap with two outs was a big swing.”
Outfielder Caleb Potter
“We had seven hits today. We just didn’t capitalize, didn’t get the big hit to get them in. You have to give credit to Augustana’s pitcher. He’s a heck of a player. But we fought to the end.”
“He was good at mixing pitches. He was able to get in front of you and keep you guessing at times. For me, I just tried to keep my mental approach, make adjustments as I go, and go pitch-by-pitch. We just didn’t get the hits in the end.”