June 15, 2000
Rosenblatt Stadium, Omaha, Neb.
Thursday, June 15, 2000
Stanford Head Coach Mark Marquess
(opening statement):
"I was very proud of my team today. It was difficultto get behind 6-0. We were able to stay in it and then break it open late.I thought the keys to the game were Andy's (Topham) grand slam, which put uswithin two, and Mike Wodnicki pitched superb. It was the second time he'sdone that. He also did it vs. Alabama in the regional. It was a great gameand a great win for us, and it put us in the championship game. Our teamshowed a lot of character, and I'm very proud of our team."
(on Stanford's experience in the CWS):
"I think the first time we playedthem (La.-Lafayette), it was a big factor, but not this time. They wereplaying loose today. Obviously, it's an advantage to have been here before.To come back, it takes experience."
(on coming back from a 6-0 deficit):
"Obviously we were not overlyconfident at that point. They were on a roll. We were hoping to scratchaway. Getting four runs with one swing of the bat was huge. For (Mike)Wodnicki to give us four scoreless innings was huge. I think Andy's grandslam and Wodnicki's pitching righted our ship. Then they gave us someopportunities and we took advantage of them."
(on Brian Sager's pitching performance):
"I thought that Sager had goodstuff. I don't know if it was nerves or what, but he wasn't around theplate. It was a big game for us and a big spot for him to pitch. He couldn't locate his fastball."
Stanford center fielder Edmund Muth
(on his offensive game today):
"When Andy hit the ball (the grand slam), itmade it 6-4 and then it was 6-5. I'd been struggling and that kind ofpumped me up. I saw a couple of balls and was able to hit them. That'sbaseball."
Stanford left fielder Andy Topham
(on his grand slam):
"I was just trying to put the ball in play and get onerun at a time. I got a curve up over the plate and hit it."
La.-Lafayette Head Coach Tony Robichaux
(opening statement):
"I think this is the first time all year that we'vegiven up double-digit runs all year. We came out and set the tempo early,which I felt was very important for us to do. We just gave the big inning,which is unlike us. The collapse for us was in the sixth inning. I toldour players that they were all champions that just failed to win achampionship."
(on Louisiana-Lafayette's defensive play):
"We've played better. This is agame of momentum. When you have it (momentum), you're great. When you don't have it, you're not very good. Our failure to keep the ball in front ofus really hurt us."
(on his team's pitching performance):
"Today shows how important it is tostay in the winner's bracket. We've struggled with our third starter allseason. Today we rolled the dice -- sometimes things just don't work out
La.-Lafayette center fielder Steven Feehan
(on windy conditions):
"A day like today really helps the hitters. Youjust hope to get it in the air. The wind does play tricks on youdefensively. All you can do is stick with it and hope to get a good read."
La.-Lafayette third baseman Nathan Nelson
(on Louisiana-Lafayette's season):
Everyone feels good about getting here.Our goal, obviously, was to go farther. We're all proud of each other andour season. Stanford has a great program."