The University of Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Ole Miss vs. Sam Houston
6/3/2007 | Baseball
OLE MISS
HEAD COACH MIKE BIANCO
Opening Comment
"I'm very proud to win our third regional and be headed to Super Regional play for the third year in a row. We were really good offensively, and we needed that. Our hats are off to a very good Sam Houston team. Mark Johnson has done a tremendous job there, and we have a great appreciation for them. I'm proud of our team for being in this position. A few weeks ago, I don't believe a lot of people thought we would be in this situation. We are now only two wins away from the College World Series."
On the team's offensive performance
"22 hits makes up for a lot of struggles we had defensively. My thought was that, although we didn't play great baseball and gave up so many runs, when we were putting up runs like we were and responding to runs scored against us, that tonight would be a special night. It was a great night offensively."
On the team's third straight Super Regional apperance
"I'm so proud of this program to be in this situation for the third straight year. I'm proud of this team. Expectations were so high going into this season, but these guys have been able to respond to those expectations even in the down times. Our leadership through Zack Cozart and Justin Henry kept us together. This has been a trying year for us with all the tough games, but at the end of the day, we are going to the Super Regional."
SHORT STOP ZACK COZART
On the team advancing to Super Regional play
"We always believed we had it in us to get in this position. We just needed to put it all together. We're excited about this opportunity to play in the Super Regional."
LEFT FIELDER JUSTIN HENRY
On the team's performance
"Three weeks ago, not a lot of people believed we would be here. The guys believed, and I'm proud of this team. We're confident and excited about the opportunity. Sam Houston swung the bat well today, but the key is to answer when a team scores. The hitting was contagious tonight."
PITCHER CRAIG RODRIGUEZ
On his performance:
"It was a situation to come in and get some outs and stop Sam Houston's momentum. When you start hitting the ball, it becomes contagious. I came in and tried to limit their opportunities. I was able to do that tonight."
SAM HOUSTON
HEAD COACH MARK JOHNSON
Opening Comment
"It's been a long day. We've been out here since 10:30 this morning. I feel like our guys played with a lot of heart, and I was proud to be their coach. Ole Miss is very happy, but I think that Ole Miss is the best ball club in this regional and they deserve to represent this regional. When we went at it so hard with Southern and it went extra innings, the flow of they score a run, we score a run, and used up our bullpens. I'm not making any excuses. Ole Miss was the better ball club, but I think the team coming out of that game makes it a little bit rougher. We just went to the bottom of our tank, but the heartbeat was still there."
On the late innings against Southern Miss
"It just kept going back and forth that I could hardly keep up with it. There were a lot of special moments for all the athletes out there. There were a lot of people who shared in it. Southern had a few guys make some special plays and of course we did too. I was glad we were the home team becuase it looked like whoever had the last bat was going to win. We were fortunate to be the home team. It was an emotional game. It was really fun, and I thought it addressed the character of this team."
BOBBY VERBICK, JR., OUTFIELDER
On the emotion after his home run
"It definitely got the momentum back on our side. Unfortunately, we didn't get on a roll and gave it back to them. It was a great feeling at the time. It got us pumped up, and I thought it was going to be a turning point of the game."
JEREMY HOLZRICH, SR., INFIELDER
On the emotions of the games
"I think we came in today knowing what we had to do, and that was play two games. We knew that if we got the lead in the first game and held on to it, we were going to get the chance to win. We knew that our bats were good enough that we could play anybody in the country. We came out and didn't hold back against Ole Miss. This whole weekend was a new experience for all of us. This club and this team I hope will get to experience this for years to come. Coach Johnson set the tone for this year and the years to come."
KEITH STEIN, JR., OUTFIELDER
On rallying from behind against Southern Miss
"Like I said yesterday, if we get punched in the face, we are going to punch right back. We played the game like it was our last, which it could have been. We were giving everything we had, and were just chipping away. Then we kept getting clutch hit after clutch hit. Everyone contributed. We had guys coming off the bench contributing. It was amazing how much everyone on the team contributed to that win."
