June 4, 2005
South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner:
“I don’t think there is any question about it. If you are going to play a team like Georgia Tech you better have your ‘A’ game if you want a chance to win, we really didn’t have that. Hempy had a rough go at it in the first inning and Tommy King dropped the sacrifice bunt and they got a force bunt. Even so, we still had 27 outs to go we got some good hacks in the first, a couple of runs and got back in the game. So we weren’t able to stop them and struggled on the mound. Like I said, when you play a team as good as Georgia Tech, you have to be at your best to have a chance to win and we were not.”
Shortstop Steven Tolleson:
“This time of the year, every out is huge. If you are going to give the team an extra out, they are probably going to capitalize especially in the post season and a team like Georgia Tech. It’s exactly what they (Georgia Tech) did, every opportunity we gave them, they capitalized on.”
Pitcher Arik Hempy:
“I didn’t have my stuff. I didn’t give my team the chance to win today.”
South Carolina Coach on Pitcher Conor Lalor ejection:
“He told me that he was eject because of the comments that Vanderhook had made. Normally you get a warning, and of course the first pitch was right down the middle and there was no warning. I was surprised that he (Lalor) was ejected; the umpire said that he was ejected because Vanderhook made a comment.
Coach Tanner comment on Slayden home run:
“We were trying to get out of it, Georgia Tech had gotten pretty good, the first pitch was right down the middle and then he hit it. That’s part of the game.”
Coach Tanner on pitching for next game:
“The only thing I know is that McCamie will be the starter in the noon game against Michigan and we will go from there and do what we need to do survive. If we are fortunate enough to win that game, then who ever is the most rested will probably start the next game.”
Head Coach Danny Hall
On the game:
“The first inning was very key for us, getting off to a quick start. Blake Wood after the first inning pitched as good as he has all year. He has outstanding stuff and did a tremendous job of keeping them off balance. I thought we played good defense and got a lot of hits. It was definitely a good ballgame for us.”
On the ninth inning ejection of USC’s Lalor:
“I don’t really want to comment on it. I think the umpire gave what he thought was right. I guess you have to leave it at that.”
On his objection with the third base umpire:
“The third baseman for South Carolina when the ball was hit, in my opinion, stood right in front of third base, so Tyler couldn’t see what was going on. I thought it might be obstruction but he didn’t feel that way. It didn’t have anything to do with the end of the play, but I thought it obstructed his view of the ball being caught.”
On the position after being 2-0:
“We’re definitely in position ‘A’ but still that doesn’t mean you win the tournament. We still have to do that. Blake gave us a huge lift. We went into our bullpen deep yesterday, so to not have to go into that bullpen today is huge for us and that is the key for Blake’s performance. Even though he pitched great and won, he saved our bullpen for another day.”
Shortstop Tyler Greene
On playing behind Blake Wood:
“It is definitely a comfortable feeling. He goes out and throws strikes and doesn’t give up many walks. So we know he’s going to keep that score real low and that keeps us relaxed and let’s us put the ball in play.”
Starting pitcher Blake Wood
On the game:
“The key was to keep the ball down. In the first inning, for some reason I couldn’t get the ball in the middle and keep it down, but after that I knew that we were going to score. I just needed to keep the team in the game.”
On the run support:
“I’m going to take what I get. Four runs in the first inning, I’m not going to complain. I wasn’t unhappy that we didn’t score more, usually we get a lot, so I’m not going to complain.”
On getting in a rhythm:
“I still didn’t feel too comfortable in the first through third innings. I knew once we started making a couple good defensive plays and if I kept the ball down and let my team play behind me I know we’re going to do fine when we score.”
On the 10 runs scored:
“I’m not surprised at all. I’ve said it before, I think we have the best talent in the country. Most of the time I pitch, we pound out some hits. I’m not surprised we put up numbers like this.”
Outfielder Danny Payne
On getting hit by a pitch:
“I think the situation was handled very well by all. That’s just baseball. Whatever happens, happens. I’m just happy we got the win.”
Pinch hitter/OF Jeremy Slayden
On his ninth inning pinch hit home run:
“It was pretty special. It’s been about a month since I’ve gotten on the field. Just being out there and getting ready to play, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play yesterday, but I was raring to go by the time I got in today. It was a lot of fun, and pretty special how things turned out.”
