June 10, 2005
Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall:
“I think it was a great college baseball game both sides pitched extremely well and their starter (Luke Hochevar) is probably one of the best starters we have seen all year. I thought that Blake (Wood) pitched an outstanding game and had an opportunity to win. It was off the cuff and sometimes in post-season play is the guy you least expect to do some damage.”
“We had the lead and I felt like Matt could give us two good innings. He has done that time and time again. He has been in that situation a lot for us this year and I would give him the ball again tomorrow.”
Relief Pitcher Matt Wieters:
“It was a breaking ball and I was trying to get ahead in the count, but it hung up on me a little bit.”
“I felt fine. Hopefully I can get another shot out there tomorrow and see what I can do. My fast ball felt great. I threw one bad pitch, a break ball and he hit it.”
Starting Pitcher Blake Wood:
“It was a lot of fun; it was a great ballgame on both sides. I was just trying to make my pitches, had a couple of hard hit balls at people and basic pitches when I had too.”
Relief Pitcher Wieters on Hochevar:
“He had very good pitches, once he got his slider and breaking working and they were very good pitches. We had just fight and battle, he throws hard and has a good fast ball and he has two good off speed pitches so we just had to just try and put it in play and hope we find a hole.”
Wood comment on unusual plays of the game:
“That’s just something that happens and part of the game. Maybe the nerves were a bit high, but I think it was just part of the game.”
Wood comment on play in first inning:
“I don’t really know what happened, I was in front of him so I really couldn’t see what exactly happened, I just know the ball kind of got away a little bit.”
Wieters comment on mindset going into tomorrow’s game:
“You have to have the same mindset every game, you have to just go out there and try to win. You have to play every game like it is the same. Hopefully, we can get the win tomorrow and come back Sunday and win.”
Tennessee Head Coach Rod Delmonico
On the game:
“Well, for the best offense in the ACC and the best offense in the SEC, there wasn’t a whole lot of offense out there. I thought both pitchers pitched very well, pitched out of jams, and we just found a way to win.”
On Kelly Edmundson:
“We put Beasley in left so we could pinch hit Kelly Edmundson late in the game. Kelly’s done a great job the last three weeks coming off the bench. Against Georgia, he came off the bench and had three hits in three at bats. So he’s done a really good job in doing that. It’s just been a team effort.”
On the postseason:
“In post season, I think good pitching gets out good hitting, that’s the cliché everybody says, but it’s true. They were able to shut us down, and we did a good job of holding them down. I think tomorrow’s game will be very similar for both teams. I think it’s going to be pitching, defense, and timely hitting. We’d like to play catch a little better tomorrow. I think that put us in a hole on a couple of plays, but we were just fortunate to win the game. They’re a great team. That’s why they won the ACC, they’re a good team.”
Pitcher Luke Hochevar
On the balk and wild pitch:
“That really hasn’t happened all year, but it happened tonight, and Fitz was able to come through and pick me up for those. That’s why we’re a team. We pick each other up and stick together.”
On the thought of possibly pitching in his final game:
“That was not a thought that ever entered my mind. I knew we were going to win the ballgame. We came back before. Our offense has always picked me up. That thought never entered my head. I guess because I knew we were going to win regardless of the score when I came out. We had done it all year. That’s just putting faith in the guy next to you.”
“I was comfortable. I felt that I had a good approach today. They’re a very good hitting club. They work into hitter’s counts and they’re very smart. I knew that was going to come, and I really tried to lock in and focus and execute pitches.”
Outfielder Rob Fitzgerald
“It was 0-0 and he threw me a slider. It started in the middle and came down and in on me. I’ve been staying back on breaking balls pretty well recently. I just put a good swing on it and it went out. I wasn’t looking for anything. I set my hands back and saw the pitch. It came off the bat kind of low. I thought it might hit the wall. I was sprinting out of the box, but it turned out alright.” “Last year against Florida, I hit a go ahead homerun in the eighth to send us to the SEC Championship.”
Pinch Hitter Kelly Edmundson
“When you’re not in, you always have to be ready to pinch hit. I knew that was my role. I knew late in the game, I might get a pinch-hit. The whole game I stayed into it. I was watching their pitchers throw and what pitches they had. When you get your chance, you have to make the most of it. Now it means that I’ll get just one at bat in a game if I’m lucky. When the situation comes up, I just have to take advantage of it.”
