June 20, 2002
Postgame Quotes
Texas
Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening statement ...
"I thought the game was all it was made up to be. It was a game between two competitive and talented teams. They threw the first punch with three runs in the first. Those are the type of games we lost earlier this year."
On being down 3-0 in the first inning ...
"I was anxious and excited to see how our players would respond. We took the first hit on the chin and we were able to battle back. I think they didn't want our pitcher Ray Clark to lose and they wanted our team to win. It is not easy to get these (Stanford) guys out. They can play at a high level."
On advancing to the championship game ...
"We get to play a baseball game Saturday. Only two teams in America get to play Saturday and we're one of them. It's pretty cool."
First baseman Jeff Ontiveros
On facing Stanford's Jeremy Guthrie ...
"Guthrie is a great pitcher. He had my number up in California. I told our team was each had to get together. We had to hit his mistakes and we did. Guthrie did a really good job. He kept us off balance in the first couple innings. Their guys came out swinging. We had to hit his mistakes and sure enough we did."
Left fielder Dustin Majewski
On facing Stanford's Jeremy Guthrie ...
"He owned me in Palo Alto and the start of today."
Relief pitcher Jesen Merle
On his effort tonight ...
"I was trying to get ahead of the (Stanford) hitters. They are the type of hitters you can't try and strike out because they're disciplined hitters. I tried to get them with the off speed stuff. I tried to keep them off balance."
Stanford
Head Coach Mark Marquess
Opening statement ...
"This was another close college baseball game. They (Texas) played tough. We jumped on them early, but they battled back. We had some chances to score, but couldn't get it done and that's a credit to them. I'm proud of this year's team, especially our six seniors. To make to the (College) World Series is a great accomplishment. We're disappointed right now. Texas was the better team and they deserved to win -- they're solid.
On Stanford starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie ...
"He can pitch. I've had a lot of great pitchers at Stanford, but none of them pitched as well as Jeremy has these past six weeks."
On Texas ...
"The thing that makes them such a strong contender is their pitching. They have great (pitching) depth and that causes problems for teams. They use that depth well. They also come up with big hits and timely hits and they also play good defense. When you pitch well and play good defense, you've got a good chance to win and they've proven that."
On Stanford's runners in scoring position performance at CWS ...
"We've really haven't swung the bats well since the regionals started. We really didn't explode offensively and the competition we faced had a lot to do with that. We won two games in the (College World) Series with pitching and defense."
Center fielder Sam Fuld
On Stanford's six seniors ...
"It's hard to describe. Ever since I got there, they were there to help. I can't say enough about their leadership. All six have been a great inspiration for me."
Starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie
On his second inning performance ...
"It was very difficult. It was very hot out there. Unfortunately, I didn't have the mental or physical toughness tonight. I got beat in that inning. It was tough."