He's a guy you can depend on in a big situation. He comes through with the big hit, or the big play. And on top of that, he makes a lot of routine plays.

In the first inning, they'd make an error and we'd get a hit and score a run. It's something we've been needing to do all year: make people pay for making errors.

There's no playoff on the line in this game, but this is still a big game for both of us. One of us will win and this will be a feel-good game. This is a pride game.

Bottom line: Do or die. No other way to approach it.

We tell our kids that from now on, whether it's one game or three games, you have to play each game like it's your last.

We'll take it. We'll take a win anyway we can.

He's got 50-something varsity games under his belt. He's seen a lot of quality varsity pitching.