Oklahoma Head Coach Pete Hughes
Opening statement: "It's back to the wall day and you don't know how your team is going to respond to that. I know who we have in our clubhouse this year. I think they are kind of special. We all want to win more games, but as long as you have the right kind of character you can handle a whole lot of things during the course of the season. Especially play in the 9 a.m. game. You're not supposed to play baseball at 9 a.m., but if you lose then you have to play baseball at 9 a.m. and we got the bad draw in round one. Our guys came out with energy and they executed. They didn't get down or pack it in after yesterdays' shut out, but then to go down two to nothing in the first, we had some seniors and some veteran guys step up and give us a chance to win. The story of the game was offense and everything was easy when you're scoring and that's the offense we've been the last 15 games. It helps Alex pitch more relaxed and helps our pitch calls, every defensive play isn't life or death. It was situational hitting and it was a good start for Big Al and he's a good leader and that's the storyline for today."
On the energy of the game "It was the offense that energizes everything and I've been saying that the last 15 or 16 games, we're swinging the bats and that brings the energy. That's the nature of baseball."
Alec Hansen
On what adjustments he made after early struggles: "I know a couple of adjustments I can make while I'm on the mound, and I think I made those while I was in the wind-up. I tried to stay relaxed. There are two ways it could go. It has gone bad before, and its win or go home. I had to give it my all. I was rushing my wind-up, and then by the third inning, I kept it low in the zone and found a good rhythm."
Alex Wise
On how big the four-run second inning was: "It was pretty big, for sure. We started off a little shaky as a team, and then went out and got four runs. We wanted to give Alec (Hansen) some confidence to go out there and be productive. He went out and did a great job competing for us." On Kansas State walking Cade Harris to get to him: "You look for those moments, especially as a senior. At-bats these days are running short being a senior. I wanted to get a good pitch, looked to drive it, and help my team get a couple runs in."
Kansas State Head Coach Brad Hill
Opening Statement: "Just a tough game. It was kind of the same thing, get off to a nice start, we just can't hold. We had some mental breakdowns today and Hansen was good enough today when he got the lead. Never want to face a guy with that kind of stuff and talent to stake him out to that kind of lead. Give our kids credit, we didn't just quit, we hung in there and ended up scoring some runs late and tried to keep as completive bats as we could. I thought we did that. To our kids credit, I appreciate them continuing to play hard and do the things we talked about from beginning to fall."
Clayton Dalrymple
On Playing His Final Game: "I kind of feel like Lou Gehrig today, with his famous speech when he said, ‘Today, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.' And during that game, I had a little bit of time to look back and think and be thankful for all the memories I had and all the times I got to put on the purple and play baseball and fulfill a dream. Credit to OU, they beat us today, but it was an awesome time playing and being a student athlete at Kansas State. Not much more I can say. I'm just thankful for all the opportunities I've gotten, me and my teammates collectively."
Tyler Moore
On Playing His Final Game: "I just want to thank Coach Hill and the rest of Kansas State University. I came on as a walk on after not getting any Division I offers. I was two days away from signing with a Division II. Then one day, K-State called. It felt like all my dreams came true. That was the one thing I wanted to do growing up was play division one baseball. Coach Hill gave me that opportunity. I just couldn't be more thankful."