Post-Game Quotes UCI
UC Irvine QUOTES
UC Irvine14, Oregon State2
May 31, 2014
Goss Stadium
Corvallis, Ore.
Head Coach Mike Gillespie
Opening Statement…
“The final score makes it look like a one-sided game, but as we all know, it was a really tough game for a long time. We got a great pitching performance from Elliot (Surrey). When Oregon State got going in the eighth inning, we felt like we needed to take Elliot out. He was around 100 pitches, and what most people didn’t know was that he was sick the last few days, so we were concerned about his stamina to begin with. What Mitch Merten did, coming in for us with the bases loaded was absolutely huge. That was big for him, and big for us. Then in the ninth inning we strung some hits together, and the score became what it became, but I don’t think that was a real reflection of the game.”
On the two squeeze bunts…
“The first one was a safety squeeze, and it was well executed. We had a good runner at third base, and he got a good jump and made a good slide. The second one was a conventional squeeze, and we had great execution from Jerry McClanahan. When those things work, you love it, but they don’t always work.”
On the effort overall…
“We had a lot of heroes in this game, going against a top-notch team, in their house, with a lot of unfriendly people here.”
INF #25 Taylor Sparks
On seeds and records importance in postseason...
"You never know what is going to happen in this game. This goes to show that anything can happen and it comes down to who wants it more and who plays the best, not necessarily the best team. We brought a lot of energy and played our best today."
P #32 Elliot Surrey
On comfortability with Goss Stadium after playing for the Corvallis Knights...
"I think a little bit, yes. Just knowing the facility and how the field plays gives an advantage to not only myself but to everyone else. Chris Rabago also played here and giving our insight to everyone else on the team helps them out as well. We know the crowd and how they are, and how the place gets loud when it fills up and we tried to use that to our advantage."
