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May 29, 2006

NEW ORLEANS, La. - REGIONAL NOTES

• Tulane has now earned bids to the NCAA Regionals 18 times (1979, 1982-83, 1986-88, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998-2006)
• Under 13th-year head coach Rick Jones, Tulane has gone to 10 NCAA Regionals, including a school-record eight straight trips dating back to 1998
• Since the inception of the Regional/Super Regional Format in 1999, Tulane has advanced to three Super Regionals (2001, 2004, 2005) and earned a spot to play in the College World Series in 2001 and 2005
• The postseason trip to Oxford will be the second for Tulane in the last three seasons
• As the No. 3 seed in 2004, Tulane sandwiched 3-2 and 12-3 wins over second-seeded Washington around a 7-0 blanking of No. 4 seed Western Kentucky to claim the Regional crown
• Tulane and Ole Miss have been paired in a regional twice previously (2001 and 2005), and on both occasions, the two teams did not meet and the Green Wave eventually went on to the College World Series

Rick Jones
13th-YEAR HEAD COACH

On playing at Oxford
We felt like we'd probably be pretty close. We've been to Oxford before and we won a Regional there. We've got some positive history and it's close enough so our fans can get there. We're not going to host, and I felt like that was one of the places we probably had a chance to wind up in and one I would not have a problem with.

On playing on the road
It's more difficult and history has shown that. But we also showed two years ago that we can go on the road and win a Regional. We're going to hang our hat on that, go out tomorrow at practice and get ready for it and do the same things we've done all year. The key thing is you work as hard as you can to get into an NCAA Tournament, and once you get there you want to play your best baseball regardless of where you are. That hasn't changed for us in any of the years before, and that won't change for us now.

On facing a South Alabama team that Tulane defeated two games to one earlier in the year
We won two out of three from South Alabama, but that was over two months ago. I know they're playing well, and so are we. Once you get into the NCAA Tournament, every year you're going to have some surprises and some things happen that weren't predictable. We know about their club and they know about ours. It's one of the few times we've open up tournament play with a team that we had a three-game series with during the course of the season. That'll be a little bit unique for our guys, but we're just glad to be in there.

On if there is an advantage to playing a team in the NCAA Regional they've played in the regular season
I think there's an advantage and a disadvantage in that. They're a lot more familiar with us also. I think the thing you've got to be careful of is not putting all your cards into that scouting report. This guy may have been struggling at that point in time, and now he may be a little bit of a different hitter. If you play him to pull or if you're looking for a guy to feature one pitch and it's later in the year and he's been able to evolve, you've got to do a good job of getting some recent scouting reports and compare then to what you already have.

On the way Tulane has played down the stretch
I think you look at it over a period of time. This is a going to be a condensed period where you have to win over a weekend, but over a period of about six weeks to two months, we've been very consistent. The reason we have is we've played great defense almost every day, we've pitched pretty well almost every day and we've started matured as an offensive club and get those timely hits. You don't get those timely hits if you're down five or six runs because you didn't make play defense or didn't make a pitch when you had to. We've put ourselves in a position to take advantage of some things by being a real good defensive club almost every day and a solid pitching club.

On Tulane's showing in the C-USA Tournament
I really thought that our kids played with a purpose over there. I know we went 2-2, but once we got to 40 (wins) and comfortable that you're in and you may host, some clubs may not have been as relentless as we were. We played so hard, we had a lot of resolve. I think the things we went through this past year, not just in Lubbock but being displaced this spring, those things have helped us. I've told our guys, I don't know what's going to happen next weekend, but I know we've had some good clubs. I don't think I've had one that hates losing more than this one, and they fight so hard not to have that.

That's a fun thing, when you're part of a club and you'rer in the dugout. There's no motivation. There in there fighting for the same thing with the same purpose. I've been around long enough now to know the difference with faked emotion, and that East Carolina game was a lot of fun to be in the dugout with our kids and watching how hard they were going after it. Some people could have said, you've got your 40th win, you're going to the NCAA Tournament and you've got a pass and you would accept that. Houston ws the same thing. Even though we didn't play as well as we wanted to, we still played hard.

His thoughts on LSU not making the 64-team Regional field
When we came to Tulane 13 years ago, we made a decision to concentrate on building our program and not try to get caught up in other programs and what they were doing or not doing. I'm not going to do that now. I'm excited to see that we're in and we're a two seed and we've got a chance to advance. That other schools that are either in or not in, I coach one team.

Nathan Southard
SENIOR - OUTFIELDER
Second-Team All-Conference USA

On Tulane's play the latter half of the season
We don't like losing, and we did our best in the conference tournament. But we have been playing hot down the stretch and I think we'll carry that hot streak into the Regional. I don't take pressure (as a senior). I just take responsibility as an older guy. I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can and I'm definitely going to play as hard as I can. I think we all will and I'll take that same approach into these playoffs. It's my last college season, but there's no added pressure. It'll be more fun, more enjoyable. I've been there, and I'll be able to take it all in.

On if he thinks Tulane can get back to the College World Series
This could be there last shot to bet to Omaha. You've got to look at it like that every year. You've got to go in and give it your all every year. Maybe last year was my only shot to go, but this year is another chance. I want to get back there really bad, and that's my message. Play it like it's your last.

Mark Hamilton
JUNIOR - FIRST BASEMAN
Conference USA Player of the Year

On if he was surprised at the Regional pairing
We kind of thought we might be there, being there the year before. It's a close proximetly and history is on our side. We won it last time we went there. We're looking forward to it. We're a little bit disappointed that we didn't host, but we feel it's a good place.

On not hosting
Obviously it would have been nice, but we've been a team on the road all year. Ever since Katrina, we've played everywhere. Coach is trying to count up the amount of places we've played this year and it's in double digits. We've been everywhere and our fans have followed us. So we're going to have good support there, and we're welcoming the opportunity

On if Tulane can bounce back from a 2-2 showing in the C-USA Tournament
I feel like we can. The tough thing about the conference tournament is getting into the loser's bracket. Doing that on Thursday kind of puts you in a negative situation. We fought back, managed to come back and get the game against Houston. We caught a hot hand and the guy threw very well against us. But I think we learned a lot from it. A lot of the young guys get to see how the tournament runs.

On if he thinks Tulane can get back to the College World Series
I feel like this club has been an Omaha club since the first day. When we stepped on the field in Lubbock and I got to see everyone, all the new guys and all the transfers, I've felt like we've had an Omaha-caliber club the whole year. We didn't quite play like it early in the beginning. We played like it down the stretch. I don't want to say we faltered in the conference tournament, but we didn't play as well as we would have liked. I feel like we can get right back on track.

Warren McFadden
REDSHIRT-FRESHMAN - OUTFIELDER
Conference USA Freshman of the Year

On Tulane having to go to Oxford rather then hosting
I think just the fact that we're in a Regional is the big thing. You get a chance to move on, extend your season and get to the ultimate goal of a college championship. Playing baseball, you want to play every single day. You would love to have your fans there behind you offering their support. But even when we go on the road, we know they're behind us. They've been pushing for us all year, and they're going to be real supportive of us no matter where we go.

On the familiarity of playing South Alabama
We played them earlier in the season, so I'm sure they got a lot better. It's a good thing in that you know all their patterns and their habits. Hopefully, they follow the same routine when we play them again in the Regional

On not seeing LSU among the 64 teams
I'm a little surprised. They've host the last, what, the past 18 years or something like that. It's unfortunate. I know they're a great team. I know a lot of them are great guys. It's unfortunate, but their fate has no bearing on what we've done so far or what we hope to accomplish.