The Memphis Tigers dropped an early game on the first day of the 11U Futures Invitational.

As one of 24 teams competing, the Tigers knew they needed a bounceback win to keep their gold medal hopes alive. Memphis responded in a big way, edging out Arizona Elite in a 10-9 extra-inning win.

Memphis Tigers coach Cody Duncan spoke to USA Baseball after his team’s nail-biting pool play win:

Q: That game was a back-and-forth against Arizona Elite, ending 10-9 after going into extra innings. What are your thoughts about the game and how your team performed?

A: It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win. We needed a win. We didn’t want to stop grinding. We knew that when they punched us in the mouth, that we were going to come back with an answer. We’re all about grit.

Q: When things got tight and went into the extra inning, what was your message to your team?

A: Don't give up. This entire game has been a dogfight. They came right out at us and we needed to battle back after going down. In the end, we got the win and the job done. Our guys at the bottom of the batting order stepped up.

Q: What does the win mean for the Tigers and what does it say about your squad?

A: It tells everyone that we don't stop fighting. We’re all about hustling and having energy. We were kind of down on ourselves in the first few innings, but we got back up. That's all we did. We kept fighting and did a good job at being good teammates. Give your all and do whatever you need to do to get the job done.

Q: Can you speak about some of the guys that had impact performances like Charlie Faber?

A: That guy has been our dude all year. Charlie is our leadoff hitter. I'm giving him the green light all day long because he’ll put the ball in the ground in big situations. He’s done it all season for us.

Q: What’s your strategy and mindset going into the next wave of games?

A: We’ve gotta win. That's the bottom line. Whatever we have to do, we need to win. That’s our mindset.

The Memphis Tigers will be back in action on Friday morning, facing Legacy Baseball Group at 8:00 a.m. ET at Middle Creek.