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May 28, 2009

Head Coach Mik Aoki
Opening statement: We’re excited about being down here. For a program that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament for 42 years, to be able to come to a facility and play in a regional hosted by a program that is as storied as Texas is pretty special and a good way to start off the postseason. I think we’ve had a good year. Our kids have competed hard and played hard all year long. I’m really happy for them and happy for our program and looking forward to the next few days and seeing if we can advance out of this regional.

On the development of Boston College’s baseball program: When Gene DeFilippo came in 10 years ago, we did not have a full-time baseball coach. He hired the first full-time baseball coach in history of our program. When we joined the ACC, it took us from a program that had three scholarships to work with to where we’re now fully funded with 11.7 scholarships. In another year and a half or two years, we’ll have a new stadium. There has been a lot of growth in the terms of the level of commitment to Boston College Baseball. I think that has been a big part of it. The first full-time baseball coach, Pete Hughes, did a great job of growing the program in the Big East and enabled us to transition into the ACC. In the four years that we’ve been in the conference, I think we’ve done a better job each and every year.

On playing at UFCU Disch-Falk Field: We’ve played in front of enough big-atmosphere type of places where I don’t think that is something that is going to intimidate us. I believe the ACC is still arguably the best conference in the country, so certainly we’re playing in front of good venues at Miami, Florida State, Clemson and others.

On Texas State: You look at their 41-15 record and they’re also hitting .336 and those are some good numbers. They are a good team and we have our hands full, but I’ve said to these guys that when we play well, we can compete with anyone in the country. I’m really proud of this team and I can say, without hesitation, that we’ve played hard every single game this year. I know that we will go out there tomorrow and compete.

On persevering through injuries during the season: We have had a couple of injuries that have hurt us down the stretch, but the one thing we’ve done well all year long is that we’ve defended it well. I think for the most part we’ve pitched pretty well. Overall, we’ve swung the bats very well also. I think we do a fairly decent job at all three facets of the game.

On the seniors: They have done an unbelievable job leading the team. They have worked to make our fall a much more competitive process. They’ve done a phenomenal job and I think Harry [Darling] and JB [MacDonald] are two of the most indispensible parts of our baseball program. In the years that I’ve coached and the years that I’ve played, I don’t know two kids that have done a better job leading this team.  They’ve set the bar a really high level, and they’ve also kept the team fairly loose. We work hard but we also find a way to have fun doing it.

Senior RHP JB MacDonald
On facing the Texas State batters: I think the ACC is up there with any conference in the country. With that said, I think their hitters are as good as any team in the country. So I’m not really concerned with the average. I don’t even look at that stuff. The way I go out there and pitch is I try to make my pitch depending on what is called.

On Texas State playing in the Southland Conference: They have a great record and I’m sure they are a great team, so they will come ready to play. I don’t think the difference in conferences is too much of a factor.

Junior C Tony Sanchez
On UFCU Disch-Falk Field not being a hitter’s haven: Home runs are mistakes. If you are trying to hit home runs, you’re not going to have much success. They happen by accident. We’re just going to take the same approach we’ve had all season. If you get lucky and you hit a few home runs, then we’re going to be happy about that. But if we don’t have our home runs, we’re going to hit our line drives, we’re going to get our base hits and we’re going to move our runners over. If we do a good job with that, we’ll be successful as well.

Senior C Harry Darling
On what they need to do to be successful: We are going to have fun going through the process.  We need to play with energy and emotion and come out and play at a high level. We do need to be careful with getting too caught up in the moment and trying to play out of ourselves. But one thing about this team is that we stay centered and play well regardless of the venue. We know this place is going to be packed and loud, but we’ve seen that all year long. If we can just play our brand of ball, then I think we’re going to be in every ball game that we play.

On what they need to do in order to move on: We have to win the first game. We have to win that first game, see what happens and stay out of that loser’s bracket.