June 2, 2005
NCAA Atlanta Regional — June 2, 2005
Quoting Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall
“I’m glad we had a chance to get our practice in today, and hopefully it will clear out and we’ll have great weather for baseball this weekend.
[Jeremy Slayden’s return] “I think he’s definitely ready to swing the bat. I don’t think he’s ready to play the outfield yet, so initially we’ll use him as a pinch hitter to come off the bench. Each day he feels a little better, but we definitely don’t want to rush him. So far, so good. He’s been able to practice each day since Tuesday. It’s a nice option to have if we need to bring a pinch hitter off the bench.
“There’s pressure on everyone. Everybody wants to advance to that next round. The bottom line is you have to play well, and if you do, you have a chance to advance. If you don’t play well, your season’s going to end. That’s the only load on our shoulders, and for all the other 63 teams that are fighting to survive.
“I like my team. We may come out here and play great, or we may come and not play so good, but they’ve battled hard all year. They’ve put us in this position. That’s why you play the regular season and the ACC Tournament, to try to put yourself in position to play at home. This team has done that. They deserve to play at home, and we’re hoping we continue to play the way we have.
[Friday’s starting pitcher] “Lee Hyde has started on Fridays for us for a long time. Of late, he has had some mixed results, but we actually threw him an inning in an intrasquad game this week, and he threw the best that he has in a couple of weeks. His biggest asset is that he’s a competitor, and our guys believe in him. You have to win that first game, and we’re going to do everything we can to stay in that winner’s bracket.
“Ithink Furman is very scary. I know how good Georgia Southern is, I know good the College of Charleston has played this year. And this team beat Georgia Southern twice and beat the College of Charleston in the first game of the tournament. I know they’ve beaten South Carolina twice and Tennessee once, so they’re a very good team that’s playing really well right now. We’re going to have to play well to match them.
