June 4, 2006
Georgia Tech Quotes
Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall:
“Very proud of my team. I thought again we played very good again tonight. We had a great pitching performance by Ryan Turner and Matt, as he’s done all tournament long, kind of got us going with that home run. Very much a team effort from everybody on our team. Kindell’s playing banged up and had a great night. But, that’s kind of the way it’s gone for us all year – somebody different each night steps up and does a great job for us. We’re very excited to be moving on to the Super Regional.”
Have you ever seen a performance like Matt Wieters in a tournament?
“I don’t think I ever have. It was pretty unbelievable.”
On the changes in the pitching staff rotation:
“Ryan, Lee and all the pitchers deserve the credit. It’s one thing to have ideas and try to make changes in a rotation but those guys have to make the decision to make it look good and for two weeks in a row now, they’ve done an excellent job.
Designated Hitter Matt Wieters:
Have you ever been on a run like this?
“I had a 12 for 14 run last year against Duke, but it doesn’t compare to being this hot like this in a regional. I had Jeff Kindel behind me all weekend so I got some good pitches to hit.”
On his patience when batting:
“I’ve been that way for a pretty long time. My Dad always told me he didn’t know where I got my eye from because he swung at everything once it left the pitchers hands. I have a pretty good eye, I think that’s one of my strongest assets at the plate, trying to get a good pitch to hit.”
Pitcher Ryan Turner
“I’ve been waiting all year for my chance to help the team out and I finally got a big game and I knew that I had to go out there and get it done. I didn’t want to come back and play tomorrow so I just tried to throw strikes, tried not to walk anybody and let the defense play and they did a good job. I came close to finishing it out but couldn’t quite get it done, but we won, so that’s all that matters.”
Outfielder Jeff Kindel
You’ve played with some pretty good hitters during your career here, can you talk a little about Matt’s performance and does it surprise you?
“It doesn’t surprise me. I saw him hitting in the fall and the spring and tear the ball up. He’s starting to get like that right now after the ACC Tournament and the series he had this weekend. You really can’t compare him to any hitters I’ve played with, he’s probably the best that I’ve played with. I played with Big Murton (Matt) and he’s a great hitter, but something about Matt Wieters makes him a little different and a little better than all those guys.”
Vanderbilt Quotes
Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt – Head Coach
On Vanderbilts four homeruns today
They were solo homeruns, it was good but they do not mean much. They are only one run. That was one thing we struggled to do during the tournament was hit with people on base and of course we did not get on base much either.
We wanted to get off to a good start. You have to in an elimination game and I thought we did get off to a decent start. With the exception of not scoring some runs, I thought we did as well as we could. We turned a big double-play. I felt if we can keep them within distance, sooner or later we would be able to catch them.
On comparing Matt Wieters to Pedro Alvarez
He (Matt Wieters) is a good hitter. What he does and Alvarez does not do is Wieters makes your throw the ball in the strike zone. He is like a pro hitter, he is not going to chase and when he gets his pitch, he is going to do something with it. He can also get on the mound and throw a 95mph fastball. That kid is a major leaguer.
The first lesson was getting to the regional and playing in somebody elses ballpark. This is the first time any of these kids have been to a regional. We have to go further than this. This is a tough place to play and a tough team to play. We want to get this program to the Super Regional and to the College World Series.
I was thinking that we would get to the regional. Now that we got here, I was thinking we could make it to the Super Regional. I am proud of all that we accomplished and I think it was a good year.
Dominic de la Osa, Vanderbilt – LF
On long day today
We work all season for days like this. This is just fuel for next year. We wanted it bad. In the SEC Tournament we fell short too.
Cody Crowell, Vanderbilt – LHP
On todays game
It is tough for the older guys. We were not coming in here to lose, we wanted to win. Right now it is a tough feeling for all of us. We played hard and hung it all out there. A few breaks here and there that may be us. They are a good team and they were a little better than us.
On Georgia Techs hitters
They (Georgia Tech) are a good hitting team. All the teams here are good, that is why they are here. If you do not get ahead of them, they hit mistakes.
