We played our best game of the year, and hit some balls out of the park which was good to see. It was a warm day and there was a little carry to the ball, and we got solid pitching and defense. I'm proud of Matt, he had a big day, and he's been through a lot to get to this point. All our hitters are swinging with a lot of confidence right now.

This was a classic, two great pitchers going at it, and Brooks (Brown) was a little sharper tonight. We put more pressure on (Josh) Butler early and finally got a run in the sixth, but he made some good pitches when we had runners in scoring position. Both guys had three pitches working tonight. After we got the lead, Brooks gave us one more inning which was huge and then we could turn it over to Joshua (Fields). It really shortens the game when you know you have a guy like Joshua who can come in and close it out for you.

The most we gained from it is seeing Kennedy. Not the physical part, but the myth part. It was a challenge for us. It's rare to go out and win a game like that, especially the first game. They came back and took the next two games from us.

We are playing better in all areas, offense, defense and I like our pitching too. Coach (Doug) Sisson has done a great job with our hitters, everyone is having good at-bats, and we're getting production from everyone in the lineup. Coach (Roger) Williams has done a fine job with our pitching staff. Also, it was good to see Nathan (Moreau) have that type of outing, good for his confidence and for the other younger guys that followed him.

We're bringing in top quality, better merchandise, national brands, a very competitive marketing and advertising strategy, and a credit card with new options. People need to come out and see what's new.

It's a great experience, there's no doubt. I think the tricky part is you've got to leave it here. We've got to get back to what we do and hopefully play better and cleaner baseball this weekend.