June 1, 2002
CAL STATE FULLERTON
Head Coach George Horton
(Opening Statement)
"Not to state the obvious, but we're tickled that we're still alive. We bounced back after a difficult and emotional game last night. We came up with a big effort today."
(On fatigue after last night's game)
"We had a couple of guys borderline late for breakfast - the [7 a.m.] wake-up call didn't go as smoothly as we wanted. But when the National Anthem came on, there was a spark and we found the energy to play solid baseball for nine innings."
Starting Pitcher Jordan DeJong
(On his complete game)
"I knew going in that after the 13 innings last night that ate up our bullpen, I just wanted to give everything I had. We jumped out to an early lead, and I wanted to establish throwing strikes early and try to eat up innings. I knew they'd let me tough it out."
Designated Hitter David Fischer
(On playing in Sunken Diamond)
"It's a good park [for hitters] when the wind is blowing out, but it was blowing in. But everyone enjoys this park."
SAN JOSE STATE
Head Coach Sam Piraro
(Opening Statement)
"We're obviously disappointed that we're leaving. I didn't feel that we played the kind of baseball today that we have played over the course of the season. Your opponent has a lot to do with that and Cal State Fullerton was tremendous. They took advantage of every situation that needed to be taken advantage of, and at this time of the year - that's what it's all about: making mistakes and capitalizing on mistakes. Cal State Fullerton did a tremendous job of that today and they were the better team."
(On Jordan DeJong's performance)
"It was very frustrating. We were trying to get back in the game and we would get the bases loaded and have guys in scoring position and come up empty handed. You have to come up with something and we didn't and that gave Fullerton the momentum and they took it from there."
(On his reflections about the season)
"45 wins is a lot of wins. But I really wanted us to play better [in the postseason]. When you play a team like Cal State Fullerton or Long Beach and they don't make a lot of mistakes, frustration kicks in at a certain point and I think that took us out of our game. I'm hoping our younger players learn from [the experience]."
Second Baseman Gabe Lopez:
(On San Jose State's hitting during the Regional relative to the past few weeks)
"You have to give credit to Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach. We faced good pitching all year and we didn't expect anything different coming into the postseason. But, like coach said, we didn't play postseason baseball."
Catcher Adam Shorsher:
(On reflections about the season)
"It's going to take a couple of weeks before I can really reflect on how outstanding this season really was. It's a real disappointment to come in here and not play the type of baseball we're capable of."