Rafael Pineda reacts to near perfect game in A&M debut

Rafael Pineda made his Texas A&M debut on Sunday by retiring the first 17 batters he faced and taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning. It was probably the best debut I've seen from an Aggie pitcher since Zach Jackson's seven-inning no-hitter in the season opener vs. A&M-Corpus Christi. It's been a very long road for Pineda, who has been on campus for two-and-a-half years but suffered a shoulder injury and had major surgery and a long rehab process that he had to overcome. But he worked extremely hard and it all culminated in Sunday afternoon's spectacular performance. After the game, a few reporters and I got a chance to speak with Rafael. He spoke so candidly and I thought I would feature this interview for your enjoyment, in both audio and written format (thanks to Beau for transcribing). Enjoy!

Notes from Rafael Pineda's post-game press conference

On how special this game was for him...

"It's really special. First, I want to thank God for giving me the oppotunity; Coach Childress for having me around and having confidence in me; and I really do want to thank God because my mom was here and two years ago we weren't sure she was going to be here for my first college game because she had cancer. It's a really special moment. I'm really thankful to God and my teammates. She's clear and 100 percent free from that now. It's been a long, enjoyable ride (overcoming several obstacles for him to be in this position). The time is finally here. Like I said, I really want to thank Coach Childress for the opportunity."

On being nervous before the start...

"Honestly, I was more nervous last night. I couldn't sleep. I was getting adrenaline rushes. But I came out here and our bullpen coach/assistant manager really calmed me down. Michael Wacha and Ross Stripling really helped me out on the mental side and I was able to come out and be really confident before it started."

On the defense behind him...

"That's a big part of what happened today. Scott Arthur making the diving catch, Brandon Wood jumping over the wall, giving up their bodies, Matt Juengel ... just carefree baseball today, giving our bodies up for the team. It was great."

On what was working on the mound...

"My fastball and changeup were what we stuck with mostly. Coach Childress called a really great game. Cole Lankford did a good job back there, kept me confident. I felt like I could throw a pitch and he would catch it where it was at."

On the double that broke up the no-hitter...

"It was an 0-2 changeup. That pitch had to be really down and I left it up. The kid put a really good swing on it and got a double. I thought it was going to be caught. We have really fast outfielders, so it was like, 'Routine fly ball.' But I guess they were playing shallow and it just got over them."

On thinking about a perfect game or no-hitter while he was out there...

"I think I noticed it when that pitch slipped and I hit that kid — I feel really bad for that. I got in the stretch and I was checking runners and looked up at the scoreboard and was like, 'Hey...' I just wanted to do really good for the team. I wanted to get the sweep for us. It was great. Our defense played really good, that was the biggest part about it."

On him filling a needed role as the Sunday starter that A&M's lacked...

"Possibly. I'm really confident up there and I'm even more confident that if I don't do good up there, we have Derrick Hadley and Gandy Stubblefield right back there with us. So we're set this year. I feel really good about it."

On persevering through his setbacks...

"A lot of prayer. I thank God. He has me here. My father played pro baseball and had the same surgery I did. He helped me through it. [Trainer] Josh Cohen, he stuck with me. He believed in me; Coach Childress also. Mentally, my father and Coach Childress really helped me; my teammates. And I love baseball. I mean, we're out here for a reason. It feels really good to be out here right now."