Rob Childress on series win over Vanderbilt, strong outing from Roa

Key notes from Rob Childress interview

• We didn’t play well on Friday but rebounded on Saturday and Sunday. I am proud of our guys and the way they played. Hopefully we can build off this momentum moving forward.
   
• Christian Roa was fabulous on the mound. He is motivated to be the best at whatever it is that he does. He’s come a long way in a short time.  He’s improved on the field as well as in the classroom.
   
• We were poor defensively and on the mound in the loss on Friday. That makes it difficult to win. I thought that overall, we pitched okay, but Vanderbilt got a lot of two out hits. It just wasn’t our day. Saturday we were able to put together a comeback and ultimately win the game. That made the series matter again on Sunday.  
   
• Kasey Kalich got us out of a big jam with the bases loaded and a full count. His ability to get out of that took a lot of courage and we’re thankful we were able to lean on him in that moment.
   
• Cam Blake played really well in this series. He is a guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder. We need that edge he brings to the team. Blake was huge for us this weekend and has been a consistent contributor all season.
   
• Jonathon Ducoff is a great kid with a great story. He didn’t get off to a good start in January and has had limited opportunities since, but he’s always engaged and it payed off for him. We wouldn’t be able to do what we did this weekend without him. He can be one of our best hitters.
   
• We play Rice tonight at home. Rice is coming off a weekend where they lost three games to Florida Atlantic. They will be looking to rebound from that, so I expect them to be motivated. We are going to have to go out and do our best to slow them down. We need to maintain the momentum from this past weekend.
   
• I think the key to winning on the road against Kentucky this weekend is our attitude. We have to play with a chip on our shoulder. They came in here and swept us last time we played. Some of the guys who lost the last matchup against the Wildcats at home will be looking for revenge this time around.