Tennessee 12, Mississippi State 2
CHAD DALLAS: It was a great game. Glad we got the win. Glad we came out. Offense was hitting really well. Defense played well. Live to see another day.
Q. Chad, I guess I'm wondering, with such kind of an early wake-up call or an early start today, how much different did that make the routine? Did it feel a little different at all?
CHAD DALLAS: It felt a little different just from waking up at such an early time and then starting to get my body loose a little early. Other than that, it's just same ball game, just earlier times. You just make the adjustments you have to.
Q. Would you call yourself a morning person normally? Are you a guy who gets up ready to go, or are you a kind of build into the day kind of guy?
CHAD DALLAS: I'm not really a morning person at all. My alarms have to be really loud, but I can if I have to be.
Q. Talk me through that third inning, I guess, when Mississippi State was able to get some guys on. What was kind of your mindset getting out of that? Were you on any sort of pitch count going into the game?
CHAD DALLAS: I don't know if I was on a pitch count or not, but my mindset through that, I gave them a couple free bases, and free bases turned into runs. Just my mindset during that inning was just fill up the zone and they'll hit into a ground ball or a pop-up. Just get an out, you don't have to do it all by yourself. You've got a lot of guys back there helping you out.
Q. Just kind of last night around the hotel or just waking up this morning, was there any chatter amongst you and the guys about attacking today, or was it just kind of business as usual? Do you feel like you all flushed it pretty quick yesterday? Just kind of what was the mindset waking up this morning?
CHAD DALLAS: I thought we flushed it pretty early, or pretty soon, I guess you could say. But we realized on the bus that we can think about it and try to go back and change it. But in reality, you can't go back and change the past, so you just focus on the future. This game was the future for us. We knew it was win or go home, so it was kind of like a pretty good feeling buzzing throughout the team and on the bus, as you know, just ready to play.
Q. What was your specific mindset for you going into this game? It was a team you guys didn't see this season. First time you guys have faced an elimination game like this as a team. Like how did you approach it personally?
CHAD DALLAS: For me, I knew they were a really good team, well-hitting team. Nothing was free out there on the mound, but I knew that they had never seen me in person. So I knew that it was a challenge for them as it was a challenge for me. So really it was just attack their hitters and see what they can do. Offense got off to a really good start, and defense played really well on top of that.
So just attacking their guys and see what plays out.
Q. And who would you say on this team, maybe specifically among your roommates, is a morning person?
CHAD DALLAS: Connor Pavolony, 100 percent, easily.
Q. I guess with the way things ended yesterday, it could be easy to just look forward to the regional, facing elimination and try to preserve some arms and all that stuff. Is that ever a thought in your dugout?
CHAD DALLAS: Could you say that again?
Q. Was it ever a thought of just saving arms and saving pitches and all that stuff for the regional and maybe not worry so much about being on the brink of elimination today?
CHAD DALLAS: In my head, I wanted to save some arms by me going as long as I can. You always want to save arms when you have multiple games, but at the same time, in a win-or-go-home situation, you go all hands on deck.
Yeah, in my head, I wanted to go as long as I could to help save the bullpen for later games, and it worked out all right.
Q. I know you won't put too much thought into it after you give me an answer, but I am curious about your thoughts about being the first pitcher at Tennessee to pick up ten wins in a season since 2005, and helping Tennessee win their first game in the SEC tournament since 2007. How much does it mean to you knowing you're a part of that?
CHAD DALLAS: That's awesome. I didn't know that until you just said that. It's awesome. It's a big accomplishment for me hearing that and take that with pride. It's been really fun playing with these guys and playing with this program and coaches. Just keep looking forward to the next game.
Q. I guess it's kind of rare in baseball where you're on the road and your game day and your game is finished before lunch time. I guess I'm wondering, what's on the docket for the rest of the day? Do you go back to the hotel and kick it? Scout some games? Stay at the park? What are you going to do?
CHAD DALLAS: First thing, I'm going to get home and possibly take a nap. It's pretty hot out here, kind of tired. Yeah, I'll take a nap, probably go see my family, go grab a bite of food with them, and then just watch some more tournament baseball, see what the other games are like. Just get ready for the next game.
Q. You guys could potentially get 'Bama tomorrow. After the way that yesterday's game went, is that something that would be desirable for you guys?
CHAD DALLAS: As a team, we try not to pay attention who's on the other side. Obviously, you acknowledge who they are, but you don't worry what's happened in the past and what they've done in the past or what we've done in the past. You've just got to focus on what your plans are, your goals, and do what you can do. Just control what you can control.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports