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June 3, 2010

Head coach Barry Davis
Opening statement: First of all, we are very excited to be here. We've had a great finish to our season. Every year we go into the season trying to make our conference tournament, which is our first goal every year, and we met that goal and finished third in a very competitive league. We played well down the stretch, and we're excited to be here in Texas and we're looking forward to the competition. It's a great experience for our program, a great experience for our guys, and certainly a plus for things that we continue to try to do down the road. This is the second time in the last three years that we've been in a Regional, and we're hoping our experience two years ago will pay off for us a little bit. These two guys on either side of me were part of that team, and we're just excited. It's a good opportunity for our program, a good opportunity for Rider, and we're glad to be here.

On playing in front of a large crowd at MAAC Tournament and facing a large crowd at Texas: There has to be something you can take from it. The game was an ESPN game, and you certainly could feel the atmosphere when you were there.

On Rider's success late in the season: We continued to work at what we were doing. We had a good weekend against Sienna and swept them, and it kind of spring boarded us.

On difference of momentum between Rider and Texas: Apples and oranges, maybe. Our goal, again, is to play the best we can play every day we go out.

On how many players are still around from 2008 Regional team: I know our whole infield that year were all freshmen, and they're all juniors now. The two gentlemen here with me today actually were not starters. Mike (Thomas) pitched in the bullpen and A.J. (Albee) was a late defensive replacement.

Junior P Mike Thomas
On his experience in the 2008 Regional: I came in the second game against Virginia. I pitched two innings in relief late in the game

On what he took away from his Regional experience: It was a big crowd, so it was the first time that I really pitched in front of a lot of people like that. I noticed that once you're out there pitching, it's just like any other game.

Junior 2B A.J. Albee
On facing the Texas pitching staff: Anytime you get to see that kind of pitching, our whole lineup will be looking forward to facing that. We've seen some good pitching throughout the year, but this time we'll have to bear down a little more and see what we can do.

On beginning the season with 18 road games: Being on the road with the guys helps the team come together. It's tough to play at home that early in the season (due to weather), so we don't make that big of a deal out of it.