Following are quotes from Stanford head coach Mark Marquess, junior pitcher Jeremy Guthrie and senior second baseman Chris O'Riordan about the 2002 NCAA Division I Baseball Championships.
HEAD COACH MARK MARQUESS
"The NCAA Tournament field seems to be too regionalized but what can you do about it. This is a big time championship. We pay for ourselves and make money. It is unfortunate that we have to do it this way. It really does a lot for college baseball when a team comes in here that we haven't seen much of. We've had teams like Texas, Alabama and Florida State come here in the past. That is huge for college baseball. That really helps our sport, and we're taking a step back from that right now."
"I don't like the fact that you're playing a four-team Regional with teams in the same conference. When at all possible that should be avoided, as should having to play a team in your league in the Super Regional. If both us and USC win, we will play each other in the Super Regional."
"Our Regional is very difficult, but you're going to have to beat good teams in any Regional you play in at this point."
"The good is news is we know a lot about them (the other teams in the Regional) ... and the bad news is we know a lot about them. We know how good they are. We've played Cal State Fullerton a lot, twice in last year's College World Series and three times already this year, so we're very familiar with them. We have a lot of respect for them. San Jose State has played as well as just about anybody we've played this year, and they're playing really well right now. Long Beach State just swept Cal State Fullerton, so they're really hot right now."
"We earned the right to host a Regional and be seeded eighth nationally by winning the number of games we did against good teams this year, even though we didn't win the Pac-10."
JUNIOR PITCHER JEREMY GUTHRIE
"Whoever comes out of our Regional will certainly be prepared for the Super Regional having played such tough competition. It's exciting to see the tough teams we have coming here."
"Cal State Fullerton is a great club. We've played them eight times in the last two years, so we're very familiar with them. They pitch well and they hit well. We are going to have to play very well to beat them in the first game."
"I didn't throw many pitches last Friday, so I'm well rested, 100% ready to go and excited for this weekend."
SENIOR SECOND BASEMAN CHRIS O'RIORDAN
"It was a really tough draw that we got, but you are going to have to beat good teams to get to the championship game. There's no easy road to Omaha, so you might as well bring it early. It's going to be a good test for us. We're facing a great team on Friday night in Cal State Fullerton and then another great team on Saturday no matter what happens."
"It was exciting to get a national seed. You don't want to look ahead to next weekend, but it's exciting to know that if we are able to win this Regional that we would also get to host a Super Regional."
"Last year's Regional was challenging as well with a good Texas team as a No. 3 seed and even a good Marist club as a No. 4 seed, but looking at this Regional on paper, I would say it is the toughest one (in my career)."
"The experience we have on this team will help us in this Regional. The group of guys on this team have been through a lot of baseball situations, both up and down. We know how to handle different situations and the pressure, perhaps better than a young squad would."