June 4, 2004
2004 NCAA BASEBALL REGIONALS
POSTGAME QUOTES
#2 LONG BEACH STATE vs. #3 ST. JOHN'S
LONG BEACH STATE
HEAD COACH MIKE WEATHERS
(on the win)
It's good to finally have one go our way, we've been playing some tough games recently, we've lost six [in a row], but they've all been very close like this, but we battled through it and the guys did another good job of that today. I thought our bench was great, with Travis Udvarhelyi coming up with a clutch two-out hit off the bench and Stevie here [Steve Velazco] winning the game there in the last inning. We try to talk about how everybody's got a part in this thing, and how they're all going to help us at some point, and I thought our bench did a good job. Jason [Vargas, Long Beach State's starter] kept us in the game. A couple of balls went out of the park, but I thought he pitched well. He stayed together, which was good for the club to see, he didn't give in, and their guy [Anthony Varvaro, St. John's starter] really made it tough on us. He kept us off-balance most of the time, made us look like we weren't very good hitters, and we're better than that, so I tip my hat to him.
(on whether he would start his ace, Jered Weaver, tomorrow)
If Stanford wins, he will pitch. After that, I don't know.
(on the possibility of bringing Jason Vargas back on Sunday)
We have three very good starters, but I thought Jason was one that could possibly come back on Sunday. He threw 100 pitches, so we'll see if we need to [bring him back].
(on his team's hitting)
I didn't think we took very good quality at-bats, I think their pitcher was part of the reason, he kept us off-balance, but we still had a lot of two-ball, no-strike counts, two-ball, one-strike counts. We were in pretty good hitting counts quite a bit, and I don't think we did a good job of attacking the baseball in the right way. So that's a little bit of a concern, but he did pitch very, very well. The other concern is we didn't get anybody on to start off the innings. I think we only had two [leadoff batters on base], and the first two innings we scored in, we got walks...We need to get better at that, and we can.
(on Stanford)
If they get through it, it's going to be quite a contest, because we know each other pretty well.
JUNIOR RIGHT FIELDER STEVE VELAZCO
(on his game-winning hit and returning to Sunken Diamond, where Long Beach State played in the Super Regional last season)
Like I always said before, this place is special, I've had memories here. It's like I make things happen here, I don't know. This field loves me or something. I love to play here, but my main goal is just to win. We had to get it done, and that's a classic Dirtbag win right there.
JUNIOR STARTING PITCHER JASON VARGAS
(on giving up three home runs)
Anybody could hit a home run at any time. I left the ball up in the zone a few times, and they did a good job capitalizing on that. Once I got a new ball, I just tried to forget about it and go after the next batter.
ST. JOHN'S
HEAD COACH ED BLANKMEYER
(on the loss)
I thought my team played pretty well. I always tell these guys that in the game of baseball, you either win or lose, or you beat yourself. I thought we beat ourselves today...We didn't do the little things to win and they did, and that's why we lost.
(on the loss)
Our kids have been through it before. Disappointed, but Mike Weathers had to do what he had to do, made a decision, and maybe he overlooked us, but the decision was right, obviously, because of the outcome. That doesn't bother us. The kid [Jason Vargas, Long Beach State's starter] threw a good ballgame, and the way we were pitching, damn, I don't care if Weaver was out there or not. If we caught the ball, the game would have been 1-0. It's a moot point at this time. They're playing to win the tournament, Coach Weathers makes his decisions accordingly, I make my decisions accordingly.
SOPHOMORE PITCHER CRAIG HANSEN
(on Long Beach State not pitching their ace Jared Weaver)
Well, in the beginning, when we found out that Weaver wasn't pitching, we felt it was a sign of disrespect to our program, to the East Coast, thinking that we can't hang with the best.