Post Game Quotes: Louisville vs. Saint Louis
June 05, 2010 | Baseball
June 5, 2010
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Saint Louis University vs. the University of Louisville
NCAA Regional
Jim Patterson Stadium
Louisville, Ky.
Louisville Assistant Coach Chris Lemonis:
It was fun to be the assistant and have a chance to be in charge along with Roger (Williams) and Xan (Barksdale). I'm glad we won. I thought the guys played great. It was nice that we bounced back early and had a chance to get a couple of leads. In baseball, we always talk about getting the lead and having the chance to be out there and have the momentum. We just thought after we got it going, they just couldn't stop us.
(On playing without head coach Dan McDonnell): "Really what we missed without coach (Dan) McDonnell being there was the motivation. He's a great motivator and I told them 'if you can't get motivated to play tonight, with all these people cheering you on, it's hard to ever be motivated.' I thought we played pretty normal. It was a normal game for us."
(On getting behind early against SLU): "We've played from behind all year. It's almost like felt comfortable (being behind). We've given up early leads all season long, so it just didn't faze us. We have a lot of confidence in our pitching staff and a lot of confidence we're going to score runs."
Louisville 2B Ryan Wright
(On answering back after the two home runs) "They took the momentum there. Got those two big home runs and took the lead. We were able to come back in the bottom half of the inning and scratch a couple across and really reverse the momentum. That's big in postseason baseball, especially against a scrappy ballclub. They take the momentum and sometimes teams never look back so it was big we answered in the bottom half of the inning."
(On not having Coach McDonnell in the dugout) "Well, it wasn't too much different. Obviously, you're used to looking over and seeing him in the corner, but like Coach Lemonis said all he really does during the game is be the ultimate motivator and if you weren't motivated to play tonight there is something wrong with you. We just played really hard for him and we were able to come out on top."
(On anything extra facing Vanderbilt tomorrow) "No, nothing extra. The media likes to make a big deal about how we beat them last year and the 17 inning game down there this year, but they're just a really talented ballclub top to bottom, have a lot of really good arms and so we are expected to have a really tight game tomorrow just battling it out."
(On going against Sonny Gray tomorrow) "I was kind of expecting it. I was waiting for the news release to come out that their Saturday guy would be throwing tonight and it's exciting because he is one of the top arms in the country and one of the top arms in his conference. We're going to have to be ready, he throws really hard and that's what the postseason baseball is all about, being able to hit the fastball."
(On having an advantage with Vanderbilt emptying their bullpen today) "I guess they used a lot more arms than they needed to, but at the same time I'm sure they have three or four good arms out of the bullpen that didn't throw today. Back to that 17 inning game down in Nashville this year it seems like they ran out arm after arm, so I'm sure they have a few arms left. Obviously, it would be nice if we could get the starter out of there early, but we're going to have to scratch and claw to get every run."
Louisville OF Stewart Ijames
(On wearing the towel during the introductions for Coach McDonnell) "Yeah, that was sure for him, no doubt."
(On doing anything different to prepare for hitting) "Not really, this team just lives for the postseason. This club, there is just something special. As long as we do what we do, we live for the postseason, we love postseason play, we keep the same style of offense, we keep the same adjustments at the plate, we keep everything the same and something just clicks in the postseason."
Louisville RHP Tony Zych
(On how he felt pitching in the game) "Yeah, I felt really good."
SLU RHP Bryant Cotton
(On the challenges of facing UL's line-up) "They didn't make very many mistakes. Every mistake I made they crushed. They could hit everything I threw. Even the spotted pitches I threw exactly I wanted too they did a good job putting the bat on the ball. It's a tough line-up."
(Asked if it was the toughest line-up faced this year) "I'd say so. I've faced some good teams. I tip my hat to them. I competed, there's I can do."
Senior 1B Danny Brock
(On the little time between games) "I think it's kind of a benefit for us. We don't have a lot of time to think about this one. We can put this one behind us and come out. There have been teams to come out of the losers' bracket before. That is in our mind so we are going to come out tomorrow and compete and see where we can go from there."
SLU Coach Darin Hendrickson
(Opening Statement) "I tip my hat to Louisville, they are a solid club. You cannot give them a lot of extra plays or outs. They are going to make you pay. They are going to feed off the crowd, play for the big inning. I think it showed with the two spots, the three spots. Bryant [Cotton] did a great job of competing like he had done all year. He made a few bad pitches and they made him pay. I am proud of our guys, they came out and battled hard. It is a pretty polished team over there that we played tonight."
(On the beginning of the game) "We knew that they were going to make a run. Bryant kept the ball in the ballpark and we were okay if we were limiting the big inning. That was our goal. We were trying to limit our damage and Bryant did that. When you hit the leadoff guy, that is not something you are going to be able to do against Louisville or any team in the regional to be honest, they are going to make you pay."
I thought we were a little too picky tonight, a little too nibbly. On paper, it shows we will crush this, we will crush that. In these kinds of games you still have to attack with your best. That was a big inning (4th) The game is about momentum,. If you get that momentum and you can put a zero up and quiet the crowd, it is a different ballgame. The game was won by Louisville in the middle innings. They took over and kind of strangled us. Zych was lights out, you have to tip your cap to that guy."
(On short time between the games) "I am glad we are playing again. I want our guys to get the uniform back on. I know Illinois State had an emotional game today; they emptied the bullpens out on both sides, which was kind of the scenario we were hoping for. Everybody is good in this regional and this time of year. The team that wants it more and can battle for nine [innings] and get through to live another day, that is who is going to win the game. We have a healthy pen and hungry guys that want to redeem themselves. I am glad we are playing again tomorrow."
