University Southern California Trojans
Pepperdine 4, Harvard 0 - May 28, 1999
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
May 28, 1999
Pepperdine Coach Frank Sanchez
"Jay (Adams) played sensational. It took that kind of effort by our
pitcher to beat Harvard. They're very good and well coached.
"I hope it (Saturday's game vs. USC) is a good game. We're looking forward to it and I'm sure they are. We'll show up.
"Every win is important for the rest of the weekend. This one, obviously, was (important) getting off on a good note. We have to remember that the team that lost today isn't out of it. I'm happy we won, yet if we had lost we wouldn't have packed it in.
"I thought about using Jay Gehrke. If we had a save kind of game, he would have come in.
"Yesterday during practice, Danny Garcia pulled a hamstring. He wanted to play but he was less than 100%. I hope he's available tomorrow. If not, we'll continue to march on.
"We haven't faced anyone like Barry Zito. There's not many in the country like him. He's an outstanding pitcher. He dominated the Pac-10. We have our work cut out for us."
Pepperdine sophomore pitcher Jay Adams
"I don't think any of us felt any pressure tonight. Everyone felt positive
before the game, no one felt tense.
"I worked down and got a lot of ground balls. That worked to my advantage. After it got dark, G.J. Raymundo told me to work down because he couldn't see the ball well in his last at bat.
"We need to play solid defense (against USC) and score as many runs as we can because USC is always capable of coming back. And we have to pitch solid."
Pepperdine sophomore catcher Dane Sardinha
"(The home run was off) a fast ball outside and high. I didn't think I got
it that well. I know a lot of balls go out at USC in right field. I got
lucky.
"Jay has been pitching like this all season. It didn't surprise me."
Harvard Coach Joe Walsh
"We've got our work cut out for us now. We hadn't played in a couple of
weeks and I think it showed a little bit.
"John Birtwell pitched a heck of a game. He was hitting his spots throughout the game and they have a tremendous lineup.
"We had our opportunities in the middle of the game. We didn't get a bunt down in the (fifth) inning with runners on first and second. If we had got that down and maybe get to within 3-1 and give us a chance. The style that Pepperdine plays is really a tough match-up for anybody and I want to compliment them. Our guys got a chance to see how to execute.
"We had two great pitchers out there tonight. To play nine innings in two hours and 15 minutes really says something about the pitching. We hadn't seen a kid like that with a splitter like that all season long. He was tough. Real tough."
Harvard sophomore pitcher John Birtwell
"I was happy that coach gave me the opportunity to stay in the game. The
guys played well behind me. Some days, the bats don't come around. I'm sure
they'll come around tomorrow. I'm really confident in our hitters."
