Link Jarrett Notebook | Post-North Carolina
Notre Dame head coach Link Jarrett spoke following Saturday's loss to North Carolina in the ACC Championship semifinals.
On the loss:
North Carolina played a very good game. It was a well-rounded game. They did a very nice job today and deserve to win that game. They pitched well. They played good defense and had some timely hitting. We didn’t play one of our better games in this setting against a team that’s playing red hot. They did a very nice job.
“Their starting pitcher changed speed and did a good job. Their relief brigade was a little more sharp than ours. We didn’t finish off some plays. If we could have finished off that double play - it might have been their first run - we didn’t quite make a good throw and secure it. We never really had the momentum in this game.
“Some of our relievers that had a done a nice job for us weren’t quite as sharp. I thought (Alex) Rao did a nice job. We watched (Austin) Temple settle in there and start to run that strikeout total up a little bit.
“Clearly not good enough to beat a team that’s playing the caliber of baseball like North Carolina. There were some plays in the outfield - some of those balls that fell in - if we could have finished those off and recorded outs - maybe the score doesn’t get to the deficit we found ourselves in.”
On where the team is after this week:
"Our week started at Northwestern last Tuesday night playing in a game that was 48 degrees in the rain. We jumped on a plane, flew to Miami and dealt with that. We flew right here because we couldn't stomach flying back to Chicago to South Bend and back to Chicago. We just came.
"We had some guys clearly banged up. Hopefully, (Ryan) Cole is back to where he needs to be soon. (Jared) Miller, we're trying to pull along. The week here, I thought it helped us.
"Matt Bedford, the arm you have seen a few times, is now back and able to pitch with us.
"Do I think we're a national seed? I do. Last year, we won the league by 4.5 games and weren't a national seed. This league is really good top to bottom. There are teams in our league that aren't in this tournament. What you do in the longevity in this conference and the SEC and there other conferences in the same realm as this, but it's challenging. You have to bring your A-game to win one of these games, not to mention when the dust settles after 30. Did you play clean enough, long enough, and dynamic enough to put yourself in a position where you feel like you're one of the best teams in the country.
"Our guys worked very hard. If you look at where we played on the road, we had to go to Tallahassee, Miami, Raleigh, Louisville and Duke. Those are some tricky trips and our guys responded in all facets in their world at Notre Dame with academics and demands. They grinded it out and there is no finer example of that than Carter (Putz).
"These guys brought it today, but as the dust settled on that, it wasn't a good enough game. We didn't play clean enough or well enough to beat a team that is playing that well.
"We don't make those decisions. We just go play. That committee has some tricky things to sort out in the next 48 hours."
On less travel helping in regional and Super Regional play:
"The travel will be none, hopefully, once we get home from here. We categorize these series as Super Regionals. Every week we prepare, we're trying to calibrate for what a Super Regional feels like and what it takes to win. These teams we play are going to be in that discussion. You're trying to prepare for that.
"Is it easier? I don't know. These are teams that are playing beyond the conference tournaments that have clearly established themselves as being very good and complete. There aren't a lot of chinks in the armor.
"In terms of travel and quality of play to win it, I'd say you have to step on the gas and play the way you've played in these conference games to win.
"Last year, to win the league by 4.5 games and ending up in Starkville, Mississippi, was probably one of the most exciting atmospheres, especially when you're the home team. Our guys handled it fine, but that's the magnitude of where you may end up and what you have to do. I hope we don't have to deal with something like that again."
On the health of 2B Jared Miller:
"Miller is coming along. When you're a switch hitter dealing with a quick dislocation in and out, it's about how quickly he responds and is able to do all the things able in the game he's required to do. We're not at that point yet.
"I think there is a chance he's ready. We didn't want to stretch it this week or attempt it. He was smart enough to realize we have to get through this and things are coming.
"You're talking about another six days. When these guys are athletes like they are, their body tends to recover a little more quickly than someone that's not in that type of physical shape.
"He's doing rehab constantly. We didn't take him to Miami because I didn't want to drag him on that kind of trip. We let him rehab on campus and he met us here. He's getting there."
On the team being able to hit the reset button after ACC Tournament like last year:
"We hit a reset button every day. I have my notes from the game, which today aren't the best notes you might find.
"There are good things that happened today and there were guys that had good at-bats. It was good to see (Jack) Brannigan get on one and Putzy hadn't had a home run in a while, so that was good.
"I think you constantly reset what you're doing whether you win or lose. Today will be no different. Those guys will be in the team room and we'll go through our 15-minute talk on what happened, what we did well and what we need to improve on.
"I don't know that we have a magic reset. It's the constant desire to play elite baseball every day, every inning. That's our constant reset."
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