University Southern California Trojans
Quotes from NCAA Los Angeles Regional
June 21, 1999 | Baseball
May 30, 1999
USC Coach Mike Gillespie
"That first game loss was a difficult one to overcome quickly and I'm most
proud that our guys didn't allow that to happen. We are thrilled with what
has happened.
"We got a solid contribution from every guy that played and some clutch pitching performances from every guy that came in. We know there were some errors, but we did make some big plays defensively.
"We felt good about our pitching (going into today's second game). We did use a lot of pitchers this weekend and felt that we had some guys to go to.
(On pitcher Rik Currier's performance in the first game) "He pitched outstanding. I think it was the best he's pitched this year. That was the Rik Currier that we thought he could be. He deserved a better fate. He was very good.
(On where he thinks USC and Stanford will play in next week's super regional) "If it's not going to be up there, I'll be astounded . . . and I'll be loving life."
USC freshman third baseman Beau Craig
(On his two errors in the first game) "Right after the game, I was thinking
about it a lot, but after (Gillespie) came down and gave the pep talk, I
did what he said to do and put it all behind us.
(On Pepperdine pitcher Jay Adams) "He looked a little bit tired. I think the first four batters hit the ball real hard. After pitching that complete game, that was a big deal to come back and pitch again. That's pretty tough."
USC junior catcher Eric Munson
"To get out of here this weekend and move on is big. There were some good
teams here. We're real happy. To win that game was huge. It felt like a
(regional final).
(On playing Stanford in another series next week) "That's always a tough series, no matter if it's in league or in the playoffs. They have real good pitching and play solid defense. They don't make mistakes. We're going to have to play well to win."
USC senior leftfielder/pitcher Jason Lane
(On USC's hitting) "All nine guys are starting to come around. We can shoot
for putting runs up every inning. If we keep having quality at-bats, we are
going to score runs."
Pepperdine Coach Frank Sanchez
"It was an exciting day and a long day, a long two days. I'm so proud of
our kids and the way they played. You saw a taste of why we won so many
games. Our kids don't have much quit. They battle and fight. Our
attitude is to always be willing to lay it on the line.
"This has been a long year for me. I couldn't have done it without the grace of God, or the support of my family and the Pepperdine family. They've been unbelievably supportive. And then there's our coaches and players. I just wanted to say thanks.
"We believed all along that we had a chance and that we were good enough to win. We felt that all the way to the end. We weren't in this regional just to show good. We just came up short.
"Congratulations to USC. You know my attachment to them. They had a marvelous tournament. I've been in the trenches with Coach Gillespie and Coach Klein. They're tough to beat."
Pepperdine sophomore pitcher Jay Adams
"I didn't think I'd go long, but I thought I could throw strikes and get
some groundouts. But then I walked some guys and things got out of hand.
I was tired. I thought I'd get us through 4 or 5 innings, but it didn't
work out that way."
Pepperdine senior third baseman G.J. Raymundo
(On his error) "That was just a routine play, but it went by me. It wasn't
a mental error, it was a physical one. It didn't take the hop I wanted.
That's okay.
"We were prepared to play, no matter how many games it was. We're used to it. That (the extra games) had nothing to do with it."
"It's disappointing that we lost today, but I played with a great bunch of guys and with a good head coach. It was a good season. We had fun. Things went well for this team. It's too bad to end it like this."
Pepperdine sophomore centerfielder Austin Evans
(When Pepperdine was trailing 10-7) "Anytime I get on, I think anybody else
can. I thought we'd take over that inning. I felt it was a good
situation. Their pitcher was throwing a lot of pitches to hit Sum We did
this all season long, coming back from big deficits. We proved that during
the year."
