Post Game Quotes: Matt Purke, Jim Schlossnagle, Jimmy Pharr

Post Game Quotes from TCU’s 8-2 victory over Kansas:

Matt Purke
Q: How did you feel out there tonight? Did you get a little tired toward the end?
Purke: “Yeah, I felt good out there. I got some things done. I got to work on some things. I had some long innings where I had to sit a little bit. I tried to really just limit them at the plate and get as many people out as quickly as possible.

Q: What did it mean to start off the season in such grand fashion with such a big crowd?
Purke: “Well, its just another game to us. We are glad we are here. We are glad we are starting but to us, it is just one game. Tomorrow is a whole different day and that is how we are going to take it.”

Q: If the game had been tight, would you have come back out after the 4th? Was the short leash just because you hadn’t thrown?
Purke: “When we get big leads like that and we are rolling, Schloss likes to get other guys in there and get them some experience no matter what time of the year it is. I got my work in the 4 innings that I had.”

Q: Were you wanting to get back out there?
Purke: “Oh yeah, I was ready to get out there! I wasn’t tired at all.”

Q: What did adding the third pitch, the changeup, to go with the fastball and the change-up do? You got a lot of guys out on the off speed stuff correct?
Purke: “My [changeup and curve] were pretty effective. They [Kansas] like to take a lot of strikes early so we were just throwing them right down the middle. The off-speed really works. They were kind of sitting fastball tonight, so we were able to change it up on them because they didn’t really have much of an approach toward that. We did a good job mixing them in and keeping them off balance.”

Q: How did all the freshman pitchers do tonight?
Purke: They did great. They came out here and overcame the nerves. My first time out I was a little shaky. They were able to handle it and compete and that is what we’re looking for.”

Q: The next time you pitch will there be a pitch limit?
Purke: “I am just going off of how I feel. Our season isn’t made in the beginning. It is made in the end. So I need to be ready and I need to be fresh.”

Jim Schlossnagle

Q: What was the reason for Purke’s pitch limit? Was it the 5-0 lead?
Schloss: “I didn’t want Matt to really have to labor any. For Purke, you know there aren’t any jitters there. There might be anxiety, excitement, and energy but the lead helps you settle in and you can throw the ball over the middle of the plate a little more. It really helped Mitchell and Duffy.”

Q: How was Purke’s curve? He got a lot of guys out with that.
Schloss: We are trying to get him to be a legit three pitch pitcher. We want them to put the ball in play a little more against him, but strike out pitchers are always going to have high pitch counts. Not a lot of players are good enough to put the ball in play against Purke though.”

Q: Jimmie Pharr had a great game tonight filling in the huge shoes of Bryan Holaday. How did you feel about Jimmie Pharr tonight?
Schloss: “Well obviously he played great. Great at the dish. Good on the backpick to first base to end an inning. He looked like Holaday for sure and that is great for Jimmie’s confidence. He swung the bat well. He has been in our program for three years now learning from one of the great’s and he is a senior so obviously nothing phases him.”

Q: Did the record attendance figure blow you away?
Schloss: “I just found out. I didn’t hear them announce it so obviously it’s amazing. We gotta build more seats haha. You could tell how much louder it was. When the music stopped and the fans kept singing on Sweet Caroline, I love that stuff so I’m sure they will tell me the student number. I’m sure it was probably almost 2,000. It’s just amazing.”

Q: Was this textbook TCU baseball tonight?
Schloss: ‘Ya it was a good game. You know, it was one of 56. Like I have said, playing well in the first game does not mean we are the best team, and if we lose tomorrow, it doesn’t mean we are the worst team. The biggest thing for me was the weather is great, the ballpark is great. We had a great crowd and my first couple of years here, we had those opportunities and we wouldn’t play well. You want to honor all these people coming out with good baseball so they will come back. That is what is most exciting to me.”

Q: How were the freshman pitchers tonight?
Schloss: “They were big, big for us. That is a great sign. You know Andrew Mitchell is probably going to be our Tuesday starter with Miller closing. Mitchell’s best stuff shows up when the lights come on. As for Purke, Purke will make a good team look bad quickly.”