Feb. 23, 2008
Recap |
Final Stats
TULANE QUOTES
Head Coach Rick Jones
Overall thoughts on the game
"I thought we played well. We had a really good pitching performance by Aaron Loup, three outstanding bullpen performances by Josh Zeid Preston Claiborne and Mason Griffin, made one error and came from behind twice. We did it with some good quality at-bats and some really good base running."
On the eighth-inning error that led to the game-winning run
"The mistake doesn't win for you if you don't take advantage of it. Jared Dyer hustling on that play was the key to that. It was a high sky and he lost it in the sun. It was one of those things. It could happen to anybody. Drew moved him over with a solid at-bat, and Aja's speed came in there to knock him in."
On the performance of Aja Barto on the game-winning hit
"He was down, and fouled a ball off. He put it in play and when it came off his bat, I felt that if it was fair it would be a hit and an RBI because of it speed. But you have to go back to the fact that we wouldn't have had a runner at first base if Jared hadn't busted around first and got to second on a really good hustle play."
On the performance of the Tulane bullpen
"Josh Zeid threw 15 pitches and 12 of them were strikes. He really managed the strike zone and got two quick outs. Preston Claiborne's was his first outing since surgery in November. You're looking at two guys there who had firsts for them. Both of those guys could have gone out there and been a little cautious or apprehensive, but both of them really challenged hitters. Mason got his feet wet last night, but today he was able to come back after walking the leadoff hitter to retire the side. He's a guy who, with our defense, should be very successful on this surface."
Junior Outfielder Aja Barto
On his ability to battle back from 0-2 counts twice during the ballgame
"Whenever I get behind 0-2, I just try and see it deep and do whatever I can to put the ball in play. Coach Jones always tells that whatever is close or anything that's questionable, that's what you want to put in play. He made a good pitch, but fortunately I put it in play and it dribbled down the third base line. It wasn't too pretty of a day, but a win is a win."
On if it was a wake-u call when UIC drew first blood in the fifth inning
"I think we came out today on our heels a little bit, but I trust in this team and I know it's great. We trust in our ability and we play, and we came out on top."
Junior Closer Mason Griffin
On picking up his first career Division I save
"It was definitely special. The atmosphere in the stadium is unreal. It's a lot of fun pitching out there and a lot of fun hearing to the guys behind you. I had a lot of juices flowing and I'm glad we were able to win.
On his thought process when he saw the fly ball drop in right field
"As soon as I saw the ball drop in right field, I pointed at my catcher Andrew (Robinson) and I said, `Let's roll. Let's get it going.' I knew I was going in at that point and I knew we were going to score. The fans around me started getting excited and started yelling at me to go shut it down because they knew we were going to score too."
ILLINOIS CHICAGO QUOTES
Head Coach Mike Dee
On Tulane's ability to answer each time UIC took the lead
"Yes, they did and that's why they're ranked as high as they are. Right now, I'm just really focused on our team and I am really pleased. I thought, we were relaxed - much more so than we were yesterday - and we competed really hard. They caught a break there at the end, but it was a great college game."
On starting pitcher Derrick Miramontes
"He did a nice job of mixing three pitches and a couple of good delivery angles. He took advantage of them being a little bit anxious. I thought he did a really good job, and I though Chris (Kovacevich) did a very good job, too."
On the dropped fly ball in the eighth inning
"You always look at the last couple of plays, but we had opportunities in the first few innings with guys in scoring positions. I thought we had good at-bats, but we just didn't get a hit. All in all, I thought we played very relaxed and this is just the second day we've been outside. I couldn't be more pleased with the way we played today. Tulane is a great club. They've very, very good, they've very poised, and they've a very good test for us right now."
