Link Jarrett Super Regional Notebook | Game One Loss to Mississippi State

Notre Dame baseball coach Link Jarrett spoke following the 9-8 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday in game one of the Starkville Super Regional. 

On the loss: 
"This surface plays completely different than ours. We knew that, but the way it reacts off that turf at the plate - I think that affected us a little bit and the dirty plays hard and fast. We didn't handle it well. We were a little out of sorts with some balls in the outfield. The line drives kind of kicked away from our guys.

"You can't make the mistakes we did defensively and on the mound. We didn't execute pitches at a high enough clip to hold it in check. It's hard to win when you make those kinds of mistakes. It's not impossible and we were on the verge of doing it, but it definitely wasn't the normal style of baseball we play. 

"The ball was in play. I thought (John Michael) Bertrand threw well and (Tanner) Kohlhepp threw OK. We didn't have a lot of defensive support. It was tough. 

"We'll get back to the hotel immediately and break this down. Some of the guys are still learning and it's a tough learning environment at this point, but some of our guys are still learning and haven't been through an atmosphere or field that plays like that. That combination led to a lot of mistakes and their guys battled. That's a very good team that was playing with a lot of energy at home." 

On the game feeling like an instant classic:
"National Championship caliber game. Point blank. The atmosphere, personnel, strategy, talent. That is what it's about at the highest amateur levels and everyone saw it. 

"We didn't play the highest level defense that our team has played and that was a turning point of the ball game. Make no mistake, it doesn't get any more intense or exciting than that. 

"It's tough to be on the wrong side of it. Everybody that was here - 14,385 - that's why they show up. They made this what it is. These fans are great and they add to the excitement, intensity and the energy for this game. It was great." 

On how Mississippi State was able to rally:
"Our guys were ready to play. Our guys were engaged, but we didn't play solid, sound defense. We rushed the ball at shortstop. (Zack) PRajzner had a great game. Beautiful game offensively. The one double-play we turned up the middle was phenomenal. 

"We just had too many mistakes. When you're collect out mode, that's exactly what you have you have to do. We didn't collect some of the outs that were presented to us. You can overcome it, but it's extremely challenging in this setting with those caliber of arms they're running out there. We almost did, but I loved the atmosphere and the way our guys played. 

"I think we just needed to settle and experience a ball game on this field to handle it better tomorrow, hopefully." 

On team bouncing back after a loss:
"We better pull it off, or that's it. I don't think our team has lost back-to-back games in two years. That's hard to do. I could be wrong with that stat, but we have to regroup ourselves and figure out pitching out for tomorrow and go. 

"These guys are resilient. We've been through a lot of tough baseball with the number of games we played in the ACC. It's a grinder. These weekends, minus the atmospheres that exists here, we've been in this grinder before. 

"The guys will respond. You can tell our guys enjoy playing and they play the game hard. That's really all you can ask. At the end of the day, you have to execute better. They'll bounce back." 

On offensive start:
"We knew going in what we were trying to do and we did it. We talked about the ebbs and flows of the game and absorbing some of the guys and delivering blows. We had a chance to do more, but these guys are in the position they're in because they can navigate and damage control it a little bit. They did that. (Will) Bednar was good. They're all good in their own right. Our guys know what they're trying to do. 

"I was overall pleased with the at-bats. There were moments it could have been better, but I have no complaints. They were ready to go and I thought they executed fairly well." 

On what team took away from facing Landon Sims today:
"The guys that saw him have to communicate to the other guys to figure out what this thing looks like that appears to climb on you. It's a very effective pitch. He's a tough kid out there and he makes critical pitches for his team.

"Our guys do a great job of communicating about what this stuff looks like. You can communicate and watch all the video you want, but until you've seen some pitches live, it's tough to simulate or prepare for that type of climbing fastball that was 93-97 today. 

"They'll communicate and we'll do our best to adapt a little bit." 

On his message to the team:
"It's a three-game series for a reason. They have to beat us twice and we have to win two games in a row. Fact. 

"I think the guys are OK. Trying to relax them at this point - I never sensed any frustration to the point of an inability to perform. I'm not really worried about that. 

"On this stage, mistakes are very humbling and hard to learn from, but that's what they have to do. They have to learn from some of the things that happened in this game in this atmosphere and apply it next time. Some of the things are difficult to simulate in practice. 

"We have to freelance it a little better and adapt a little bit better. I'm not worried about the overdone frustration. These guys are competitive and it's OK to be disappointed, upset, or mad. Sometimes that focuses you and that's how we'll go about it." 

On pitching plan for Sunday:
"We have some options to open the game. We'll figure it out. We've got guys that have pitched in all sorts of roles this year and that's one of the strengths of our team, the flexibility of the personnel on the mound. 

"Kohlhepp - that's probably it for tomorrow. We'll see how he feels on Monday, but it's a lot to ask of a kid to come back. He's a tough kid. He's learning. 

"If you look at the inning workload of some of these guys, he's still in the early stages of pitching at this level. He's a competitive kid and athletic kid. We'll see how he responds and find out if he's available if we get this thing Monday."