May 31, 2002
Georgia Tech vs. Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina head coach Gary Gilmore
“I guess we played about the same as last time. We did not do anything the first night and we did not do anything tonight.”
“It’s not like we are the only team that they have beat all year. They have won a lot of games.”
“We did not execute very well. We waited about five or six innings before we had a base runner. I don’t want anyone getting on our kids for bunting. Sometimes people think we have too much pride to bunt ?I am sure that they do that stuff to. We were just trying to do anything that we could to get a guy on base.”
“Until the sixth inning, we did not come close to having a base runner.”
“I don’t know what to say. There were more people in the stadium than people back home at our school. It’s tough to come into this environment beat a good baseball team.”
Pitcher Justin Sturge
“I was not nervous at the beginning of the game. I kept trying to make good pitches as the game went on.”
“Tomorrow is another day. We are capable of winning but we just have to forget about today. We need to get ready for tomorrow. I think everyone knows what we need to do.”
Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall
“I think the guy next to me (Bakker) just totally dominated and controlled the game. We were able to score four second-inning runs to give him some breathing room but I think the story of the game is just how dominant he was for nine innings. The key stat that we always look at is that he didn’t walk anybody, struck out eight and only gave up three hits. Any time you do that, you’ve got a chance to win. Brandon Boggs’ hit early was a key. Slayden had a couple of real good at-bats. Just a great start for us.
“We really never talked about last year. There have been a lot of questions about that this week from the media. But we had seen Coastal early in the year. Kyle pitched that game and it was 2-1. They played us as good as somebody could play us, so we knew they had a good team. I didn’t have to say anything about last year. We knew they were good and expected a tough battle.
Georgia Tech Pitcher Kyle Bakker
“The thing that helped me out was just the early run support. You just feel comfortable out there. And when your defense makes plays like ours did tonight, it’s really tough to get hit hard. We’ve been working all week on getting my arm slot up and tonight that’s all I was focusing on. It feels really good. I needed to get some confidence back and this definitely will help. I felt like I was in a groove. I felt good, especially after my team got four runs
[On bunt single] “It’s not the way I would like to lose a no-hitter, but that’s the game of baseball.”
Georgia Tech rightfielder Jeremy Slayden
“Any time Georgia comes in here, they’re always going to be really ready to play and really pumped up for that game, and so are we. We’ve had success against them this year, and we’re excited about playing another game in the regional.
“He (Bakker) stepped up for us tonight. Any time a pitcher steps up like that, it gives the hitters confidence.
