University of North Carolina Athletics
Derrick DePriest Postgame Quotes
February 27, 2000 | Baseball
Feb. 27, 2000
TarHeelBlue: You looked like you had good stuff today. Tell me what pitches
you rely on.
Derrick DePriest: "I mainly rely on my fastball and slider. The fast ball
gets ground balls, the slider is a good pitch on the righties and sometimes back door
on the lefties.
"I threw a couple of overhand curves today for strikeouts. My changeup's improved a
little bit, so basically I've got four pitches I stick with most of the time.
"I can usually throw any of those pitches for strikes."
TarHeelBlue: Tell me about your at bat today (a strikeout).
Derrick DePriest: "It was fun. Coach Fox told me right before I went to the
plate that if a pitch came near me, make sure I turn to the inside. That got into
my head a little bit. I put Earey's defender on, a big pad he wears, and I put
Hooper's shinguard on, so I felt like I was wearing battle armor.
"I went up there and this kid whose about 5'2" was throwing about 91 mph. I'm 6'8" and
his first pitch went right under my knee caps. It moved about six inches and went right
over the plate. I've got a big strike zone."
TarHeelBlue: Was this your first collegiate at bat?
Derrick DePriest: "That was my fourth at bat. I had two at bats two years
ago, and I batted once in Orlando this year."
TarHeelBlue: Last year's team got off to a great start. This year's team is
off to a great start. Compare the two teams.
Derrick DePriest: "The first thing is we've had some really tough games this
year. Coming back in that first game at UCLA, that was the most incredible game I've ever
been a part of. Coming back on Sunday out there after being down 6-0 was also fabulous.
"This year's team hits the ball well and never loses confidence. Hopefully that will be
able to carry us through a long season and we won't fade at the end of the season like
we did last year.
"I think our chemistry may be a little better this year. I think we have a little more
fight in us. We lost some good players after last year, but we have
the seeds of a really good program, and we've come back strong."
TarHeelBlue: Do you feel good about the defense behind you?
Derrick DePriest: "Oh, absolutely. The two freshmen, (Chad) Prosser and
(Russ) Adams are incredible at second. Hooper's great at short and third, and Earey
at first is a huge target.
"We're ripping the cover off the ball right now, and we're pitching well.
Scott Autrey's contributing, and Matt Tanner's doing a pretty good job out of
the bullpen. Earey's throwing the ball well.
"We've got a lot of speed and a lot of power. The team's playing smart. That's all
you can ask for right now."
