May 19, 2007

Recap |  Final Stats

TULANE HEAD COACH Rick Jones

On playing all the seniors and all the graduates in Saturday's win
"At the end of the day, I'm in the kid business. It was special having J.R. go out because he deserved that. It was something I thought about doing when I found out he wasn't going to be able to play, especially when we thought we were going to be back at Turchin. Even when we weren't in Turchin, it was the right thing because he earned that with all the things he's done as a player for us. Devin comes out here and works in practice like he's been a starter and a big asset. He earned that, and now he'll always be in the record books. He scored a run and that meant a lot to him."

On posting a shutout victory with three of the five pitchers participating being seniors
"Having three seniors pitch - Brandon Gomes was outstanding again, Matt Goebel had a good inning, and Daniel looked like Daniel in the end -that was a real positive."

On getting key hits early in the game
"Mac had a big hit for us. We were patient and got some walks, and then Mac got a big hit and Seth Henry had a big hit also."

On the team's thought process heading into the C-USA Tournament
"We're eight to 10 wins short of what we thought we'd be - especially after the start we had - but you have a tournament for a reason. We're not in any bigger a deficit than anybody else now, so we have another chance."

His thoughts on the senior class
"When you look at the accolades those guys got academically, all those guys are graduating and graduating with honors. When you factor in what they've done on the field over the last four or five years, that doesn't happen unless you have great kids from great families who were raised right and have a commitment to being the best play, best student and best teammate. We talk about this all the time, but coming to Tulane isn't about four years. It's about 40. It's about what this degree will mean to them in their adult lives. These guys, I promise you, will be ultra-successful because I know what they're made of. They are the consummate great teammate, great student-athlete and great representative of our University. That's something that has been born out not only their success on the field -which is unbelievable - but their classroom achievements, which has also been at the highest level."

SENIOR PITCHER Brandon Gomes

On pitching 6.0 shutout innings on Senior Day
"The juices were definitely pumping. After the Senior Day festivities, I tried to get ready as fast as I could. It was a good game, it was something special to come out and get a win in my last game here."

On making plays from the mound with two assists and a putout
"It was just reactionary. We work on it all the time in practice so it's more of a reaction. I've been here for God knows how many years."

On the upcoming C-USA Tournament
"Everybody starts fresh next week. I know we have the pitching and we have the talent offensively, to go through that tournament. No one wants to play us right now, so I'm looking forward to that."

SENIOR PITCHER Matt Goebel

On playing his final home game at Zephyr Field
"Senior Day is emotional every year, especially when you're a part of it. But it's been a great ride. I would have loved to be back in Turchin, but it was great to a lot of fans come out and kind of say goodbye to us in our last home game. Its been a pleasure to be with the guys who have been in the same shoes as me - the other seniors - we've had a lot of fun together."

On the upcoming C-USA Tournament
"That's kind of what we've been focusing on. Everything we've been doing lately has been trying to gear us up to be playing our best baseball when we get to North Carolina for the conference tournament next week. Obviously, it's not the road we had hoped to take to get to the NCAA Tournament, but it's the one we have to take now and so everything we're doing now is gearing up so that when we get there, we're ready to make a run at it."

SENIOR CLOSER Daniel Latham

On the experience of Senior Day
"Obviously, there were a lot of emotions out there. There are six of us and it was our last time to play at home, even though Zephyr Field isn't home for us. For the last two years, it's been our home for us. There were a lot of emotions and a lot of memories over the last four years for me here - and for some of the guys it's been five years for them. It was a great day for us. We had gorgeous weather to play in and we had great fan support once again. All in all, it was a great day. Everybody got in the game today somehow. J.R. got to play right field or whatever it took to get all of these guys in the game and honor them the way they deserved to be honored. It was pretty special."

On being one of three senior pitchers to combine for a 7-0 shutout win
"I hadn't really thought about that, but it's pretty special. Brandon gave us one of his vintage performances. It was typical Brandon today. He goes out there, pounds the strikezone and lets the defense get some work. Goebel goes out there and gets through his inning, we piece an inning together and I get to go out there in the ninth to finish it out. It was really, really awesome."