Recap

UCLA Head Coach John Savage
"It was a good Bruin win. That game started off with Josh Elander hitting a home run; he's one of the best hitting catchers in the country. But we stayed with the process. The game could have gone either way. It was tight either way. The left-hander from TCU is one of the most talented freshman pitchers we've seen all season. I think our experience showed as the game went along. We had some good at-bats. (Tyler) Heineman had a good base on balls there, we had a couple hit-by-pitches, and then they bring their reliever in and (Trevor) Brown uses the middle of the field. Adam got stronger as the game went on. That's what he's done most of his career. Started off giving up two solo home runs; most of the time that's not going to beat you. He hung in there and gave the ball to (David) Berg in the eighth, and Berg did a nice job. It's game one of a three-game series, and you can't take anything for granted. There was no celebration. It's one game. We have a lot of work to do. TCU is very good. They've been in this position before. Let's not forget they lost the first game of their regional and came back and won that. We know that they're going to come out tomorrow ready to play, and so will we. We're going to stay with our process and get after game two tomorrow. It was a good ball game, a good finish for us, and now we move on to Game 2."

(on David Berg) "You just know what you're getting from Berg. The guy's just been a rock. He gets the ball outing after outing, and he's just the same guy. When they know what you're going to do to them and you can still do it, that's a pretty good sign. Good sinker, good slider, good change. A mixed guy. He just has aptitude, and he's a guy who comes out every day and wants the ball. What can you say about Berg? He's been one of our valuable players."

(on Cody Regis) "The guy has had a phenomenal career. He has over 100 RBIs in his career at UCLA. He was one of the best freshmen in the country. He's put pressure on himself. Junioritis. It's draft-itis a lot of times. A lot of guys go through that. But the last 20 games, I've seen better at-bats. His strength is middle of the field opposite left center, and when he hit that ball, that was very similar to the guy that we know. He stayed with it. A great teammate, a great Bruin, and we need him at this time of the year. He's played the most postseason games in the history of this school, along with Beau (Amaral). He's an experienced guy, and he showed that tonight."

(on being concerned with the offense) "I (wasn't) just because Adam was pitching so well. He picked up steam, and all of a sudden it was a 2-1 game. That game could've gone the other direction. Adam put up zeroes in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, and we knew with our offense, that is somewhat of a typical game. We had six hits, we used most of those hits for six runs. There was no panic. That's the one thing this team has shown all season - we play nine innings. They stayed with each other. We put up a five, then Adam took it from there. There was no panic but they stayed with the process."

(on why this team is a better offensive team than last year) "The guys are older, smarter, stronger. Coach Peters has done a terrific job with our offense. I think we underachieved last year with the bat. We all know that. They're on a mission. In the post Trevor Bauer/Gerrit Cole era, they have a chip on their shoulder. They want to show they can do it without those guys. It's hard to put a finger on it, but it's kids being kids, and guys stepping up and knowing that the strikeout is not the way we're going to win games. We struck out way too much last season We've touched the ball a lot more this season. And we can run - we have good athletes. Whenever you have speed, you put pressure on people. We're just a better offensive team. It's a combination of a lot of different things."

UCLA Pitcher Adam Plutko
(on the fake throw) "It got me that second out. That was a big second out, then the inside pitch to the next guy, I popped him up, and I was out of the inning." (on if the 2 early HRs rattled him) "No, not at all. It's just solo home runs. When you look up, it's just 2-0. Yeah, sure, they went a long way, but it was just next pitch."

(on feeling stronger as the game went on) "The job of the ace of the staff is to lead the guys. I kind of settled down towards the end from the fourth on and really started pitching like myself."

(on going to Omaha as a high school senior to watch UCLA) "I was watching my long-time high school buddy, Cody over here, he hit a home run in the Super Regionals and hit a home run in Omaha, and my dad looked at me and said 'We gotta go.' We took the first flight we could, and it was just so phenomenal being out there. It's the only place on earth that's like that. You can't find that anywhere else."

(on his mentality) "My mentality is not to do too much. The easy thing is to try and be nastier than Justin Verlander or just the best you can be, and all you gotta to do is be yourself. That's really what our whole team tries to do."

(on Cody Keefer's catch) It was awesome. We always say we have the best outfield in the country, and we prove it every single time we go out there."

UCLA Outfielder Cody Regis
(on his sixth-inning double) "I talked to Coach Peters before that at-bat, and he basically said he likes to work away down in the count and to look for something out over the plate. I got it with two strikes and put a good swing on it."

(on prior success against TCU bringing him confidence today) "I think so, yeah. We're somewhat familiar with them. Obviously it's not the same team that we played then, but just having that in the back of your mind, it gives you confidence going into it."

(on his year individually) "It obviously hasn't been the year that I was hoping to have, but throughout the year I've just been sticking to the process, trying not to think about it too much and just going out and playing and having fun, especially now that we're in the playoffs. Trying to keep it fun - I mean, it's a game after all."

TCU Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle
"Well obviously a disappointing result for TCU. I thought we played well for eight of the nine innings. Obviously a walk and two hit batters set the table for some timely hits on their part and that was the difference in the ball game. I think there is a stat that says something like over half the games played in baseball at any level, the winning team scores more runs in one inning than the other team scores in the game. You got to avoid the big inning especially in the era of BBCOR bats. You can't set the table because it's awful. I thought Adam (Plutko) did great for them. He found his changeup in the middle of the game. He kept us off balance. Solo homers don't normally beat you. So he did a great job and (David) Berg was outstanding. I thought Brandon (Finnegan) did a good job of keeping us in the game. (Justin) Scharf has been money in the bank all year. He just got a ball up to (Cody) Regis. Regis wore us out in Omaha two years ago, and he got the big hit today, so kudos to him."

(on Starting Pitcher Brandon Finnegan) "It definitely wasn't fatigue. He threw 75 pitches. He was cruising. For whatever reason he just lost command for a couple of pitches. He flirts with that every now and then being a young guy and I think that has to be something that improves over time. He kept us in the game. Normally, Justin (Scharf) is money in the bank in getting a ground ball in those situations and it didn't work out tonight. The reason we started Finnegan in the game tonight is simply because I thought he was the best available pitcher that had enough rest that was the best matchup for UCLA."

(on now being in a must-win situation) "For sure I like our chances because I believe in my team. Our bullpen catcher pointed out that this time last week we lost by the exact same score. So we're going to take that as an omen but a good one. No disrespect to the other teams, but the level of competition has been raised. UCLA has a great team and outstanding pitching. But we feel like our team is a grinder, blue collar type team that plays well with our backs against the wall. We kind of feel like we're right where we need to be."

TCU Centerfielder Kyle Von Tungeln
(on UCLA starting pitcher Adam Plutko) "Well, I think later on in the innings he started getting more command of his off-speed pitches. His fastball he was trying to work up in the zone with it and a couple of guys ended up chasing. But I'd say his changeup and curveball command got better as the game went on."