May 30, 2008
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TULANE QUOTES
HEAD COACH Rick Jones
Overall thoughts on the game
"We played as close to a complete game today as we could play. We had good starting pitching, we pitched really well out of the bullpen. With the exception of one play, we really played well defensively. We had a lot of quality at-bats, especially in RBI situations there in the sixth were we capitalized. I thought our short game today was really special and had a lot to do with our win."
On if he was concerned after the team lost five of its last six games
"The thing about it is, I have so much history with this situation. Not just our team, but other teams, where you come out of the conference tournament and where you don't play well as you think you should or you don't finish as good as you think you should. But when you get to a Regional, you start over again. The only thing that was a concern to me is that Florida was very similar to us. We were 1-2 in our tournament and they were 0-2 in their tournament. In 2004, we lost four of our last five, went 0-2 in our tournament, won three straight in our Regional and the next thing you know, we're in the final 16.
"It was really one of our more complete games. We came in with a real good frame of mind. You can see that we were playing aggressively and we executed well. The body of work you show over three and a half months gets you in. No team is going to get in if you didn't have a good year, and that' the thing we reflected on this week. We had a good year and we got in the NCAA Tournament because of that. We didn't play as well over the last week or so, but we had a good year, we're a good team, and today I thought we showed that because we beat a really good Florida team."
On getting offensive and defensive production from a pair of players who entered the game hitting .212
"Scotty has given us a lot of good situational performances, but what we were able to do starting Monday was reevaluate some guys in intrasquad and simulated-game situations. Scotty really showed up in that. We talked about it as a staff yesterday and I wanted to sleep on it a little bit. I just felt like we needed a spark, and if Scotty could give us that spark, he would make a big difference. He certainly did. He had a single, got those two bunts down and beat them out, and made two really good plays in the outfield. Josh was the same thing. He had a really good day offensively. He handles left handers well. Defensively, that made a big difference - having the plays that he made along with Seth in the middle. You just don't know. That's why you play the games - find out. You say this guy can't or that guy can't but things change. Today, we just played a very complete ballgame."
On being able to answer Florida's four-run sixth
"That was good because when you do that, you switch the momentum so much to your side. You have Pep in there giving us some really good middle-inning work there getting us into the ninth and doing it pretty quickly. That was pretty special. That rebound inning is something that can really be a game-winner for you if you can pitch, play defense and back it up. We did today."
On Aja Barto sparking the seventh-inning rally with a pinch-hit single
"I thought Aja's at-bat to lead the inning off was big for us. He was a pinch hitter, singled and got that going for us."
On having the Florida State fans pulling for Tulane playing against Florida State's rival, Florida
"I don't want to speak for the players, but I'm going to tell you this. In 15 years at Tulane, this is our 12th trip to the Regionals and seven times we've been sent to Baton Rouge. We know what it's like to be on the other end. We know what it's like to have 7,000 people cheering for Harvard. This is really fun. Today was a role reversal that I didn't mind."
On having a pair of freshmen pitchers close out the ballgame
"One thing I would like to point out is that post-Katrina recruiting has been a challenge, but I think we've really turned the corner back to where we were prior to the storm. You saw two freshmen today come in and close it out, and did it with a lot of confidence. I think that speaks to where our program is heading back to when you have two freshmen in this kind of setting against that kind of club to pitch with that kind of poise."
FRESHMAN RELIEVER Nick Pepitone
On the job he had to do in today's ballgame
"I came in behind Shooter Hunt, one of the great starting pitchers in college baseball right now. A great team like Florida was able to get on him a little bit. When I went out to the mound, Shooter gave me some words of encouragement. He just told me to keep them where they were and our team would be able to continue to get on their pitchers and we'd be fine. I just had to keep it close and that was my only job."
On if he feels he can pitch again in this Regional
"I think I did pretty well in the pitch count. Early in the seventh, when I came in, I got a little high in the pitch count to the first couple of batters. But I did a good job of keeping my tempo upand allowing my defense to work behind me. We'll see how I feel in the morning and if coach needs me, I should be able to come back."
JUNIOR LEFT FIELDER Scott Powell
On the team's mindset after falling behind 4-1
"We just had to overcome that one inning when they scored four runs. We tried not to get down on ourselves, stay positive and stay confident in our approach. As far as staying confident, that helped us be successful."
JUNIOR CENTERFIELDER Anthony Scelfo
On Tulane's six-run seventh inning
"They came out and they answered big - put up a four spot. They put us in a whole quickly and they did it with Shooter on the mound. They had a big inning and a big rally, but we came in averaging seven runs a ballgame. We were down three and we had three at-bats left. We just relaxed and went out and played the game. We had a lot of hits at that point, we had guys on base, but we just weren't getting them in. In that inning, we just happened to put the bat on the ball a little bit starting with Aja and we just kept it going. It got contagious - single after single, line drive after line drive. The next thing you know, we put up a six spot."
FLORIDA QUOTES
HEAD COACH KEVIN O'SULLIVAN
Overall thoughts on the game
"First of all, you've got to tip your cap to their club. They came back at the end. In the seventh inning, they did what they needed to do. I thought we had a great game plan against Hunt, drove the pitch count up. Hunt hung around in there and we kept going up in the game to keep us around and we put a four-spot up in the sixth, but we just couldn't hold on."
SECOND BASEMAN JON TOWNSEND
On his two-run homer in the sixth
"Well, the at-bat before that, I left a runner stranded at second base and he struck me out with a fastball. So I knew going into that at-bat that I had to work off-speed. Prior to the at-bat, Coach O'Sullivan said, `Look for the curveball. He might do something,' and he did so I let it go. He gave me a fastball, and I think it was a ball actually, the one that I hit, so I tried to take as short of a swing as I possibly could to get the ball into the outfield. Luckily, it jumped off pretty well."
