NCAA Regional Press Conference Quotes
6/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2005
A press conference was held during Thursday's practice sessions for the NCAA Baseball Championship Waco Regional at Baylor Ballpark. Following are selected quotes from the participating coaches and players. TCU will face Stanford in the opener Friday at 2 p.m., followed by UT-San Antonio against Baylor at 7 p.m.
TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle
On starting pitcher Lance Broadway
"(Broadway) has done a great job for us this year. In my opinion he's been the best pitcher in the country, I don't think anybody's even close in terms of his numbers and performance. We've had a lot of opportunities to put him and our team in an environment similar to this and the great thing is, those opportunities have happened in the last two weeks."
On building tradition at TCU
"I think we definitely can, everyone has to have a breakthrough year. The great thing about baseball is that can happen at any time and we return a lot of players...that were here last year and experienced that for the first time at TCU. We brought in a lot of guys who considered places like Baylor, Stanford and Texas. This is something they expected to happen, so we've turned a corner in this program, but certainly we want to come here and perform well and not just enjoy the sights."
On Stanford
"With Stanford you're going to be dealing with one of the more talented teams in the country every year. Coach Mark (Marquess) is one of the legends in our sport and he's going to have them ready to play and we expect a great game. I'm sure they're going to pitch, they have two or three guys that will be very high draft picks either this year or next, and they will play the game right. I'm sure there won't be many opportunities to mess the game up, so we're going to have to play our best to be competitive, but I'm sure we will."
TCU pitcher Lance Broadway
On facing Stanford in the opener
"You want your pitcher to go out and give you as many innings as possible and that's what I expect to do. I expect to go out there and pitch to my strengths, I'm not really going to change anything just for Lowrie and Mayberry, I know they're good hitters, but a good pitch is a good pitch no matter whether it's to a good hitter or a bad hitter."
Baylor head coach Steve Smith
On hosting the regional
"We're excited to be selected as one of the hosts for this event and I'm happy for our players, the university and the community to be able to extend the college baseball season here in Central Texas."
On facing UTSA
"It is a bit unique (to face a team you are so familiar with) and it is one of the unfortunate results of the regionalization in our tournament. I think one of the things that makes postseason tournament play so exciting is playing different people and that's one of the downsides to it, but I don't think there's anything either one of us can do about it, so we just go out there and play. For that very reason (already facing them) I don't think there's any chance that our guys won't be ready to play. We've already faced them twice and won two games by a whopping total of three runs and we know we have yet to see the best they have to offer."
On starter Trey Taylor
"We really haven't had anybody be as consistent over a long period of time as Trey. There's going to be a lot that goes into how well we play tomorrow, but having somebody that can go out there and throw strikes and make the other team put the ball in play - and he's been able to do that not just this year but over the last years - it's important. I know our guys have a lot of confidence in him. I feel like we've had three No. 1s (starters) all year long. (Taylor, McCormick and Van Allen) have been consistent all year long and are capable of going out and giving you six, seven innings every time they go out and that's all we ask them to do."
Baylor starting pitcher Trey Taylor
On returning for senior season
"I had the opportunity to leave last year, and much of the reason I came back was because I believed this team had the chance to do something very special and I wanted to be a part of that. The entire class I came in with is pretty much still here and for players like Josh (Ford), Michael (Griffin) and me this is it for the next month, our careers will be over here and I'm excited about the opportunity I have and I know these guys are to."
On starting tomorrow
"Obviously tomorrow is huge, we need to stay in the winner's bracket. It's important to me to go out and throw strikes and I'm confident that I will go out and do that. I'll be excited, so I'll be forced to keep my emotions in check and just have a lot of fun."
UTSA head coach Sherman Corbett
On playing in Waco Regional
"We're glad to be here. The season that we've had, we got off to a slow start but really the last two and half months have played well, gotten good starting pitching, timely hitting, quality defense and it has put us in this position. We're very happy to be here."
On the selection show
"When we watched the bracket we knew we were either going to Ausitn or Waco. When we saw our name and Baylor's name up there it was kind of expected. I think we gasped a little bit when we saw the other two teams that were put in the bracket, TCU and Stanford. TCU is a real quality ballclub and Stanford is a perrential national power. Obviously this is a difficult regional and a challenge for us."
On playing Baylor for the third time this season
"Obviously you want to play someone that you have seen before or played well against. Our guys have played well throughout the season and the time I have been here at UTSA and we have become more competitive with the Baylor's of college baseball."
UTSA outfielder Chris Lewis
On playing Baylor for third time this season
"It is an advantage for us having played these guys before and I think it would be different if we opened against TCU or Stanford. Coach has told us all year to take each game one pitch at a time and stay focused."
UTSA infielder Ryan Crew
On facing Baylor in the first round
"Most teams would not be very confident coming into a tournament like this and facing a team like Baylor. But, we have played them twice this season and we know we can be competitive if we come out and play like we are capable of."
Stanford head coach Mark Marquess
On playing in the Waco Regional
"We're thrilled to be here, it's a great opportunity for us. This is a beautiful ballpark and we're playing in a real strong regional field. We had a long trip yesterday, but I told the players it doesn't take much to get loose - you walk outside and shake your arm a little bit and we're ready to go. It's good to be and the weather is good and as I mentioned this is a beautiful ballpark."
On the matchup vs. TCU
"It should be a good game. It should be a great pitcher's matchup. That probably means there will probably be a lot of runs scored, you know how that goes. It should be a great college baseball game with two outstanding pitchers."
On the regional field in Waco
"It is a tough regional. Every regional is tough in that even if a team has a .500 record and they won their tournament they are playing their best baseball and that is a team you are a little leery to play, because everything is kind of going their way. It's a new season, no matter what your record was, and you can't lose two games. It's as simple as that."
Stanford pitcher Jeff Gilmore
On playing in a regional away from Palo Alto
"Obviously we're thrilled to be in this spot. If you're a one seed, a two seed, a three seed or a four seed, if you are in the tournament you are in the tournament and everyone's record is 0-0 at this point. Last year we were arguably the best team in the country at this point and three days later and four games into the regional our season was over. So everyone is on a level playing field right now and we're thrilled to be in Texas against good competition, we've got a beautiful ballpark and we couldn't be happier to be here."
Stanford infielder Jed Lowrie
On playing in a regional away from Palo Alto
"We're playing hot teams that have won their conference tournaments. The competition should be great no matter what the records are and we've just got to play like we're 0-0 and go out and try to make some noise in this tournament and play against good competition."
