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June 5, 2009

Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening statement: We played TCU earlier in the year and you can toss that one out the window. It was a Tuesday game. Both teams had played in conference over the weekends so we were in different parts of our pitching staff, different parts of the rotation, the game just kind of moved along with a flow but really has no bearing on what’s going to happen this weekend. Both teams have changed dramatically from then to now. Both teams are much better. As a result of the success in the regionals, both teams will be coming in with more confidence than they had in the past. We would expect this to be another weekend of exciting and competitive Division I Baseball.

On playing TCU: They do a lot of little things. They’re well coached. They’re very positive about their approach to the game. They play the college game, meaning a heavy emphasis on pitching and defense and trying to manufacture runs which most of us do. It will be about the little things that go into the game, the momentum shifts of the game are going to separate the two teams and I think it’ll be a big battle.

On Austin Wood’s role as the closer: He wanted to do that because he provides a lot of leadership for this team, not only on the pitching staff. We have a lot of different personalities but they are a very tight unit on this team. Even though their personalities are different, they’re all unselfish and they’re all willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win. That’s the common denominator on the pitching staff and that’s why they’ve been so successful. Austin took himself and put himself aside at the beginning of the year because we did not have a closer. His commitment to the team went beyond his own aspirations in professional baseball where starting is where you have the best chance to show your talents. He took on the toughest job there is on a pitching staff, short relief and closer because the team needed him. That attitude, along with his talent, is why he’s been exceptionally successful.

On how what happened in the regionals can affect the team: It can go either way. It’s like everything else. If it’s used right by everyone involved, it can enrich your confidence. If you think you’ve got it made and you think you’re going to win because of what happened and you can do that at any time and you make assumptions, it will go the wrong way. In this game, it can go either way. Nothing produces an outcome that’s predictable. That’s the excitement of it all. It’s about the unpredictable. We’ll see. I think we’ve enjoyed practice. I think we’ve had a good focus at practice. I think the players are looking forward to the game but I don’t think they take things for granted. If they take things for granted, if they don’t stick to the fundamentals of the game and stay focused on the game, bases will slip away from them on offense and outs will slip from them on defense. When that happens, you become less confident and the momentum shifts.

On the team picking each other up: I think it’s about attitude. I think it’s about any unselfish spirit that they have about getting the job done.  Being able to over come the adversities and maintain their confidence so when it’s time to perform, they become challenged in  a positive way because they’re doing things right all along the way and I think that’s where that success comes from. They don’t panic on whether they’re going to win or whether they’re going to lose. If they don’t get it done, they trust their teammate to get it done.

Senior 3B Michael Torres
On the emotions of getting out of regionals: On Saturday, I think we were all so exhausted that we kind of all just went home, ate and went to bed to get ready for Sunday. Sunday, we were excited. I think we were more excited to move on than the actual game and how it ended. We were just excited that we came together, we pulled out and the offense scored runs. We were excited, then we had Monday off, came and worked out on Tuesday and then it was getting ready for this weekend. It’s in the past now. We’ve moved on and we’re ready for this weekend.

On getting the offense going early: It’s just as important as it is in any of the other games. You want to get out there, you want to get on base, you want to score runs and it gets the offense in a rhythm. To give the starting pitchers like Chance [Ruffin] and Cole [Green] some runs early on, it helps them get comfortable. It’s something we always try to do. It’s not just this weekend. It’s a plan that we’ve had all year so hopefully we’re able to do it this weekend.

Junior 1B Brandon Belt
On how he’s recovered from the injury: I feel fine. I’m getting these stitches out today so I’ll feel a little bit better once they come out.  I actually went to a balance specialist today and everything is good to go. When I got hit, I knew I was going to have to come out because I couldn’t really walk on my own and I wanted to play. But I did. It’s a credit to the training staff here with how much they helped me because I was able to come back the next day. When you have stitches in your ear and a mild concussion that usually doesn’t happen very often. They helped me a lot. They did everything they needed to do to get me back out there the next day.

Sophomore RHP Chance Ruffin
On the scouting report on TCU: I haven’t seen too much about them, kind of just what we’ve seen last time we played them. I haven’t seen much more than I’ve seen on any other team.

On his performance during the regionals: I wasn’t very satisfied with it. It was something that gave us an opportunity to win, something I expect to do consistently, but I’m hoping to go out and do a little better this round, maybe get a little further in the game with a couple more innings.

On his pitching success: I reflect on that kind of thing a lot. Coming into college, hardly any body knew of me. If they did, it was probably more because of my dad than anything. To go from just a middle relief in the bullpen to starting, being a Friday starter has been a huge deal, it has been really exciting for me.

On his pitches and his best pitch: My fastball has a little natural cut on it and usually I throw a slider. The best pitch is a strike for sure.