June 2, 2002
June 2, 2002, Russ Chandler Stadium
Post-Game Quotes
Georgia head coach David Perno
“All the credit in the world to Georgia Tech. I think they have a great team, no question about it. They have a lot of talent and experience and they are going to be a team that has a chance to go to Omaha. Georgia Tech is a tremendous club. Their pitching depth is outstanding, they’ve got no holes in their lineup and they defend the field as good as anyone we’ve played . I think we went up against one of the better teams in the country this weekend.”
“I give all the credit in the world to our guys for the way we fought. I don’t think anyone in February expected us to be in the position that we were in and we never quit until the final out and that is a tribute to our guys. We played with a lot of heart and a lot of guts and a lot of soul and that’s the way we played all year. They finished the race. I am proud of them.”
“They called about 80 balks this tournament and in the ninth inning, they are going to stop calling them, so that is what I was arguing about. The guy clearly balked before they called it. We needed one more balk to get that tying run on but that’s the way it goes. At least they recognized it and made the correct call.”
Georgia third baseman Lee Mitchell:
“We fought and gave it all we had and that’s all we can ask. We walked off the field with our heads up.”
Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall
“Just a great feeling to win the game. Again, we had great starting pitching. Brian Burks gave us a great effort, and we got some key hits when we needed to. Jason Perry’s hit to knock in two runs in the ninth inning was a key hit. Brandon Boggs got a hit for us early to give us the lead, and then we had two, two-out hits from Perry and Parker to get that third run across. We made it a little too hairy late, but Georgia’s done that all year. They have always been able to come back, but Philip Perry bailed us out. He came in and got two strikeouts on two guys that I did not want to see at the plate.
“I can’t say enough about how our starting pitchers pitched. All three guys that we ran out there were super and gave us a chance to win every game. That’s what it takes when you get into postseason play. All three guys were just outstanding.
“I can say enough about the senior leadership on this team. I said yesterday it started with Vic and Matthew Boggs, but I’ve got to include Wes Rynders in that group. There’s probably not a guy on our team who’s impressed me more this year than Wes because he wasn’t a starter like he has been for three years, but he contributed greatly to this team. All three of those guys showed great leadership.
Georgia Tech Pitcher Philip Perry
“I was pretty nervous warming up, but you get on the field, you just forget about that and just go after the hitters. I was just hoping I could throw strikes because I’ve been struggling with my command the past few outings. I was just hoping to get ground balls and get out of the inning. [Balk call] I was a little surprised he called it. I was conscious of it because Georgia had argued about the pitch before. It was unfortunate because the next pitch probably would have been a double play ball.
Georgia Tech Shortstop/Pitcher Victor Menocal
It was a little hectic because everyone is fired up in the ninth inning. I came in and I wanted to shut the door against the Bulldogs. But that’s why we’re called Georgia Tech ? there’s no individuals on this team and everyone stepped up this weekend. I couldn’t get the job done, but Philip Perry came in and picked me up. That’s what we’ve done all year. We all knew Philip Perry was going to get the job done.
“It’s definitely satisfying. I was really disappointed about how our season ended last year. Beating our rival and moving on to the next round is a great feeling.
Georgia Tech Outfielder Matt Murton
“The crowd support was just outstanding, and this is just a great atmosphere for baseball. I think the team responded well and we got the job done. The competition between the two schools is always going to be great because of the rivalry. The added incentive was that last year they sent us home, so we had to one thing to do to try do to make up for that.
