What Dan McDonnell, Louisville Players Said After 8-1 Win vs. Miami

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program is now one win away from returning to the College World Series, securing an 8-1 win over Miami in game one of the Louisville Super Regional.

Here's what head coach Dan McDonnell, third baseman Jake Munroe and right-handed pitcher Patrick Forbes had to say following the win:

3B Jake Munroe, HC Dan McDonnell and RHP Patrick Forbes

(Opening Statement)

"Really happy for these guys. This guy to my left [Patrick Forbes] continues to just compete his tail off and pitch. It's not, I say, an easy atmosphere to pitch from excitement. He's already got electric stuff. So, controlling electric stuff not necessarily the easiest when you're that juiced up and adrenalized. I thought he did a phenomenal job of getting through that tough inning, that bases loaded inning, and that really gave us the juice and energy to run off the field with that momentum. And obviously this guy, to my right [Jake Munroe] man, he was locked in and swinging it, and you can put this guy in the six hole. Whoa, just, as he said, with Matt Klein being back in the lineup, we're just really stretched out. We got some options, Jakes [Monroe] hit third, fourth, you know, six. We're just kind of splitting up the righties and the lefties, and it's just a good game for us all the way around.

(On Munroe's Day)

"It was just staying through the middle and he stays on the ball. You talk about how hot he got off at the beginning of the season. It is not like he ever slumped. He just does such a good job. Just hearing what Coach Snider and Coach Vrable preach, the reason you stay middle is so you can handle fastball and breaking balls. Hitting is not easy. These guys work awful hard at it. It is fun. Confidence is contagious. These guys, as is the lineup and as they should be, are very confident right now.

On Forbes' performance

"The world of pitching is you have to pitch out of jams. You might get an inning or two when the ball gets hit right at people and three up and three down. College baseball is not supposed to be easy. You have to pitch out of the stretch, control the running game and make pitches when there are runners in scoring positions.  That is where someone like Patrick (Forbes), who is a great athlete, a two-way player who hasn't been a pitcher his whole life. He has been on the mound but he hasn't been in enough of those situations where I thought this was going to be a huge growth year for him and so it is fun to see. This last month, it has been fun to see him pitching out of the stretch, pitching out of jams and not letting it snowball on him. He gave up the two-run homer last week, and then another guy got on base, maybe a walk … that is what pitching is. His best days as a pitcher are ahead of him. I think pro ball knows that because of how fresh he is. This body, this arm, this mind set, some organization is going to get a future superstar and it is going to be fun watching his career."

(On the big crowd and how it lived up to the expectation of a big game at Jim Patterson)

Patrick Forbes, Jr., RHP: "The crowd is huge for the momentum. That's just the home field advantage part of it. Getting the runs across deflated them just a little bit, enough for us to gain a bigger lead. So the crowd was huge, and it was a great showing from all of the Cardinal fans… That's all you can dream of is the crowd that showed up today, that was huge. That was definitely one of the loudest crowds I've played in front of. I think elementary school day is up there close with that, but I think the fans today beat the little kids."

Jake Munroe, Jr., INF: "We 100% feed of (the crowd). There's no better feeling than running into the dugout after a big strikeout and then getting the bat in your hands and then getting the opportunity to put some runs up. The crowd drives us. The dugout drives us. It's awesome… It was everything I thought it would be and more. Seeing the berm fill up first before the stands did and then running out there and looking around for the first time. It was awesome. It's the reason why I came here. I wanted to come to this program, wanted to win, and we have a chance to do that."

(On what was going right with your at-bats today)

Jake Munroe, Jr., INF: "The approach (was going right) and I was getting back to what gave me early season success. I was just trying to be calm, unload the baseball, and stay on the line."

(On what was today's performance like for you)

Patrick Forbes, Jr., RHP: "I don't think I had my best stuff (today). It felt like every inning I had to work out of some type of jam. I think I just like stressing out Coach McDonnell. It's really easy to pitch when everything's going your way. Showing that I could get out of those jams was huge and the run support, especially Jake (Munroe) sending a few to the berm was huge for me."

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(Photo of Dan McDonnell: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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