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2004 NCAA BASEBALL REGIONAL
POSTGAME QUOTES - GAME 6
Long Beach State 8, Stanford 4
at Stanford, CA (Sunken Diamond)
June 6, 2004
LONG BEACH STATE
HEAD COACH MIKE WEATHERS
(on the win)
"Our pitching did what it was supposed to do, and I think our offense came out early in the two games against Stanford and set the tone for us. Our starting pitching really fought hard through the pitch counts and got deep into games, and gave us a chance to win, and obviously everything worked out for us and we're on to the Super Regional."
(on winning pitcher Cesar Ramos' performance)
"I think the key was his composure. We work on that all the time, the guys know that...a guy like Cesar worked that to the extreme, because the innings that we did hurt him, and got him in trouble, he limited it to one run each time, and that was a big key. Cesar's done that before, he pulled out our Regional against Washington last year, and he's got a lot of experience."
(on the Dirtbags' offense at Sunken Diamond versus at home)
"Our guys have to honestly learn to hit two ways. They learn how to hit Blair Field, sort of a line drive, gap-to-gap, alley to alley, and then they get to free it up a little bit. I play the offense a little different on the road and let them hit more. We've learned to play in our home yard...we pitch and we play defense at home, and on the road we open it up a little more.
(on playing at Sunken Diamond)
"We've played well [at Sunken Diamond]. We've never been blown out...I think Stanford respects us and we respect them. This time we got them, and they've gotten us in the past. It's awfully satisfying."
SOPHOMORE SHORTSTOP TROY TULOWITZKI (REGIONAL MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER)
(on returning to Blair Field to host a Super Regional versus Arizona)
"We're still going to have to bring our "A" game, no matter where we're at, but it's always a bit of an advantage going back home, and I know everyone on the team is excited."
SOPHOMORE PITCHER CESAR RAMOS
(on facing Stanford's lineup)
"It's tough with Stanford's lineup...I try to slow down, so I pitch one hitter at a time."
STANFORD
HEAD COACH MARKMARQUESS
(on Stanford's games with Long Beach State)
"Well, congratulations first of all to Long Beach State, they had a great tournament, with three great game, just congratulations to them. I thought obviously the difference in the game was the big hits, they did that yesterday against us and today the same thing - they got some big hits, with the home runs, three today and a couple the other day. They were a huge difference-maker. I'm very proud of this team, it's very difficult know to be too up because we're all very disappointed but this is a special team, we had a great record during the year, won the Pac-10 title. It's a disappointing especially for our five seniors who've contributed so much to our program: David O'Hagan, Drew Ehrlich, Sam Fuld, Brian Hall and Jonny Ash have done so much and have so much success and all of them saved their best year for their last year, not only on the field but leadership, and I want to thank them publicly for what they've given to the program. Like I said it's disappointing but Long Beach State deserved it, they were the better team; they played it and I want to wish them well. They're very solid.
(on today's lack of offense)
"I'd like to say it is just slumping, but I think that's not giving Long Beach State enough credit. Their pitcher Ramos did a great job. He doesn't have that record by accident, he comes up with big pitches. We had a lot of opportunities, we just weren't able to come up with the big hit."
(on Long Beach State switching its rotation around)
"[It worked] Perfectly. Again, it's hard to comment, because he [head coach Mike Weathers] does such a great job with his team, and it's hard for me to question anything. He knows his players better than anyone else, and I think the way he set it up was perfect - they went undefeated. They really only had one close game, the first one, and they just really handled us in the two games that we played them. They pitched, played better defense and had timely hitting - and so they're most deserving. They did a great job, however he set it up the right way."
(on being surprised about Long Beach State handling the middle of Stanford's lineup)
"Well, yes and no, they do a very good job pitching. They change speeds very well, they're in and out, and give them credit, they pitched well. Look at their stats, and that's what jumps out at you, they're phenomenal. In most cases, good pitching, gets good hitting out. You've just got to play well at the right time and Long Beach State did that, that's why they won this thing."
(on the Long Beach State-Arizona matchup in a Super Regional)
"Arizona's playing very well, they beat us two out of three in Arizona, and we still can't figure out how to get them out. They're very good and very capable, but I don't think they're going to matchup. They don't have the pitching depth that Long Beach State does or maybe the quality, but they're very dangerous and they're very offensive. But, like I said: good pitching gets good hitting out and Long Beach State has some great pitching."
SENIOR OUTFIELDER BRIANHALL
(on the last out)
"I was actually still trying to beat it out, I thought maybe he'd throw it away or something and before the at-bat I was telling myself, lets go get a hit. You don't want to make the last out of the season. But, I was still trying to beat it out. Hats off to them, they played a great game."
SENIOR THIRD BASEMAN JONNYASH
(on not going back to Omaha)
"Anytime you lose its disappointing, but ending our season like this and not excelling in the postseason like we plan on doing and we work so hard on doing ... it's going to be disappointing."
SENIOR PITCHER DAVIDO'HAGAN
(on his first collegiate start)
"Well, like coach [Mark] Marquess said, I was trying to get five or six solid innings and really do my best to throw low strikes throughout the game. Obviously, I got a couple of pitches in the happy zone and they hit them pretty well. For me, I think I'd by lying to you if I didn't say that I was trying a little too hard after a couple of plays that happened out there, and I think I tried to take too much of it on my own shoulders; I ended up making some pitches that weren't the best pitches for the situations. And at the same time, I think the Long Beach State hitters did a good job of coming through when they had to and they came up with a big hit off of me, something that if I had to do over again I would probably go in a different direction. But, you've got to give them all the credit in the world.
(on handling a start differently)
"There was really nothing; I was just trying to take it pitch-by-pitch and the only difference was I didn't want to get out too early in the game or throw too many pitches in the bullpen. I just tried to keep back and tried to go after the hitters.
SENIOR OUTFIELDER SAMFULD
(on what was different this year)
"It's tough to say, baseball's such a fluky game. Throughout the four years I've been here, we've had some tough obstacles and some tight situations, and we've been lucky enough to have them go our way, and I guess things just didn't go our way. We had a great season, but when it comes down to so few games [in the postseason], it's tough, and this kind of stuff happens."