2002 ACC Baseball Tournament
Georgia Tech vs. Florida State
Georgia Tech head coach Danny Hall:
“We just got off to a tough start. We made some errors early in the game that gave them some extra outs, and some extra opportunities and like a good team, they capitalized on it. We had a chance to score in the first inning with a runner at third and one out and didn’t do it. We had a guy on second, nobody out and didn’t get him to third. So we wasted some early opportunities. They took advantage of every mistake that we made, whether it was defensively or making bad pitches. That’s a sign of a good team. They capitalized on our mistakes, which great teams do and they’re a great team right now. We tried to make a run at them late and couldn’t quite get the big hit to put the pressure on them.”
(On FSU playing well) “I think they’re playing great. They’re doing everything real well. They made three great defensive plays. (Stephen) Drew makes that backhand play and turns it into a double play early. (Bryan) Zech made that diving stop and got a force-out at second. Then Zech went and made a backhand play and got a force-out at second, and almost made another play. That’s a difference maker right there. They are getting the hits when they need them.”
(On possibility of hosting a sub-regional next week) “I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t host a regional, but I have no clue what’s going on with those regionals. If someone can figure that out then they are a lot smarter man than I am. I think our RPI is in the top 10, I think our league is the best league in the country. We played good down the stretch against some great competition. So to not get a regional would be a major injustice to our team.”
Florida State head coach Mike Martin:
“It was just great to see Robby (Read) give us five good innings. It was a big lift to us. He struggled a little bit, and he’ll tell you he did, but he made the pitches when we needed them made. I thought our defense was outstanding. We got a couple of big plays; (Bryan) Zech’s play up the middle and Zech and (Stephen) Drew’s double play early. Those are the kind of plays that as a guy sitting in the other dugout you are very impressed with, and those are always the kind you like to see your team make. I just can’t say enough about the way we got after it, that is what it is about. We got after it, and I’m very, very pleased. We got a big hit out of (Tony) Richie in the first inning in the two run double. A lot of outstanding things happened, but it boils down to Read, (Daniel) Davidson and (Daniel) Hodges.”
“Marc LaMacchia pitches tonight. Marc has been just about every level with us, he has been down, middle and up. Right now, he is throwing the ball very well. He is locating the fastball, he is throwing the breaking ball and change up very well. He is a young man that in the last three outings has shown that he does belong with Lynch, Varnes, Read and the other guys that are now part of our rotation. We are very proud of the way he has pitched, of course the jury is still out regarding tonight, but we are excited to give him the ball.”
