POST-GAME QUOTES * GAME 4 * May 31, 2003
#2 South Carolina 7, #4 Stetson 2
South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner
Today was a hitter’s day and David (Marchbanks) battled and made his pitches and after the first inning he was clutch for us. We turned 3 double plays. We needed all the hits we could get. Stetson was still in the game until the last out. Other than the first inning, we played a good game.
(On David Marchbanks) The way David came back after that first inning was a courageous effort. You can tell what kind of shape he is in with the way he had his fastball at the end of the game. He was named first team All-American, and today you saw why.
(On Landon’s slump) Baseball will humble you. There are very few steps between the outhouse and the penthouse in baseball. You can be on top one day and you can’t believe it, and the next day*.Landon comes out to play everyday. Good things are going to happen. He broke out (today) and he deserves it. Landon is our 4th place hitter. Everyone expects him to be Babe Ruth, and he’s one of the best catchers in the country. Our pitchers have the luxury of throwing balls in the dirt, because he is going to block them. He is our catcher as long as he wears a Carolina jersey.
(On their position in the tournament with higher seeds losing) This is where you want to be. We haven’t done enough yet, we have to go out and win another game. We’ve had two great games but we still have to go out tomorrow, and anything can happen. We can’t be in a better position as far as our pitching is concerned. One reason we are here today is because of our pitching.
South Carolina pitcher David Marchbanks
(On Stetson and the game) They are a great hitting team. They are aggressive and I knew I had to keep the ball down, move it in and out, locate my pitches. The defense behind me has been great all year long. They stepped up big today.
Double plays are pitchers best friends. So it definitely helps to have three (DP’s).
Our hitting does not surprise me. Everyone in the lineup was hitting well. Today it was just the bottom of the order that was swinging the bat well. Tomorrow it will probably be the front of the lineup.
South Carolina catcher Landon Powell
(On breaking out of his slump) It’s always good to break out of a slump like that. I think about it all the time. Baseball is a game like that, but you just have to keep swinging away, working at it, and it will start working out. I just swing hard, and hopefully, find a hole.
I haven’t been pressing. Sometimes things get away from you. You just keep going at it.
South Carolina right fielder Steven Tolleson
(On playing in the outfield) I am just here to make a contribution. If they need someone in the outfield that can do a better job than me, I just want to win.
Stetson head coach Pete Dunn
You have to give credit not only to South Carolina but certainly David Marchbanks. We came out swinging the bats pretty well and got a couple of runs. They made a great defensive play to throw a guy out at the plate and get them out of the inning.
That’s why (Marchbanks) is the SEC pitcher of the year. He didn’t have a good rhythm that first inning but then he settled down and shut us down. He is the type of pitcher we knew would give up some hits, and he did, but after the first inning we were never able to bunch anything together to mount a real serious threat.
They did a nice job against us. I thought we pitched pretty good, good enough to win. We were up 4-2 and still in the ballgame, but they had a two out base hit from their No. 9 hitter and they built on it from there.
When you are within one swing range, particularly with our ball club that has won games with one swing, if we could keep it within one swing and get a couple guys on base or the bases loaded and have Snyder or Wilson or Rasmusen pop one for us. But the home run by Powell put us out of one swing range.
(On facing SC again) Certainly it will be difficult, South Carolina is going to have much deeper pitching. Marchman gave them a route job today and they got a route job yesterday. They have won two ballgames with two pitchers, so I am sure with the depth that they have anyway, they will have the advantage. But again we are all here. We showed up and we played and that’s why we play these things. They don’t award wins based upon seeding * you have to go out and play the games. I’m sure East Carolina and us will keep battling to come back tomorrow.
(On walking Harris to get to Buscher) It was a lefty-lefty match-up. We got the ground ball. We were double play position but the ball was just a little bit out of range. We were thinking about putting him on from the get go and were saying ‘Let’s pitch real carefully to him,” I don’t like to do that. We decided to pitch carefully to him and when we went 1-0 decided to put him on.
