Oklahoma State University Athletics
2008 Baseball Regional Quotes
May 29, 2008 | Cowboy Baseball
Oklahoma State Quotes
Coach Frank Anderson
Opening Statement:
“We're excited obviously to have a regional here in Stillwater. We've got a great field on hand. We got a regional field to the championship with TCU and Wichita State and we got a really good Western Kentucky team. We've got three conference champions. So, it's a tough regional and we are excited about it. We're looking forward to it.”
On playing at home:
“I think it is important for our program. It's been a while since we hosted a regional. It's more for the players because it rewards them for their body of work throughout the year. I think that is important.”
On who he plans on pitching tomorrow:
“We're probably going to throw a left-hander tomorrow and Tyler Lyons is an option.”
On tomorrow's opponent, Western Kentucky:
“Everybody says they really compete. They've got some power. One of their guys has 20 home runs, and I don't care where you play, that's a huge accomplishment. They can pitch and they really played well at the end of the season and that is what you look to do. They know how to win a tournament obviously. They won their conference tournament. I think they are a good club. The NCAA didn't do us any favors with our No. 4 seed because our No. 4 seed could have been a higher seed in many other regionals.”
On having a rested pitching staff:
“I think we are. I've never been a big proponent of pool play situation and I obviously would have liked to have had a chance to play on Sunday, but we are ready and we haven't played for quite a while. We haven't practiced a lot because of the weather. The weather has been so bad. We have had rain every night except for last night. From that standpoint, it's probably been good for (the team). If we hadn't had all that rain, we probably would have practiced two or three hours a day and probably worn them out. This way they're pretty fresh. We've gone about an hour or an hour and a half a day to give them a chance to get there feet moving. The biggest thing you worry about this time of year is working them too hard. We haven't had a chance to do that because of weather.”
On Tyler Blandford recent performances and on the pitching staff:
“Blandford was huge for us because we had been searching and had given him some opportunities and he struggled a little bit. The last two times out he's been really good. Wednesday in Oklahoma City was not an easy outing. There is some pressure to that outing. We knew we were going to face a quality guy on the mound from their side, so it wasn't just a token deal. He had to go out there and pitch for 7 2/3 and he had as good an outing as any of the three guys we had down there under a little more duress. That was huge for him. We'll sit down tonight and go through some stuff and then make our decision. To see Tyler throw like that and see Weinhardt throw like he did at the end against Nebraska was huge.”
Jordy Mercer
On not having a national seed:
“It was disappointing for sure but it's past us now. We had a team meeting and it has past us and we have to move on. We have to start to improve now and it just gives us a little extra motivation.”
On not being on the road like in the past:
“It's different for sure. We're not in Fayetteville. We wanted it at home. We wanted to bring a regional back here. It's a great accomplishment and we're excited about and we're ready to get out there and play.”
On getting the regional in Stillwater:
“It means everything. We've seen so many conference championships here. I think it has been 11 years since we had a regional here. That's what we wanted to do. The coaches turned this program around and we are on the right track.”
Tyler Lyons
On Western Kentucky's lineup:
“I haven't seen a whole lot really. Mostly what I've heard is they hit a lot of home runs. I really don't know a whole lot yet, but we'll see as tomorrow comes.”
Wichita State Quotes
Wichita State Coach Gene Stephenson
Opening Statement:
“We're just thankful to be in the tournament and we're happy to be here. We're excited about playing and we're looking forward to it.”
On regionals of the past in Stillwater:
“There was a great memory here in 1988. It was the best game we ever had. We were able to come back and win and I'm sure that didn't set well with OSU fans, but it sure set well with Wichita State. It's a wonderful opportunity for us. I have read where we are very weak offensively and I understand that except for Gillaspie. Hopefully we will be able to score a few runs.”
On the depth of OSU's pitching staff:
“I'm not aware of their depth too much because we only played them once. Who they threw were too much for us. If those guys are better than what we saw, then we're in trouble. We're not really interested in Oklahoma State right now. We play TCU and I think that's the most important thing that you need to focus on because I promise you that TCU can play. We've already played them three times and I know they can play.”
On Wichita State's hitters:
“I don't think anyone is scared to pitch to Conor Gillaspie. I just watched Oklahoma State take batting practice and I'm scared to death. They hit 500 balls out of the ballpark. I watched us take batting practice and I think we hit five. That's not a good deal. I don't think anyone is scared of us.”
On TCU:
“They've got a lot of pitching now. We saw that in March. They have a lot of good arms. They have a lot of guys that can pitch. We faced their two guys for eight plus innings and never scored a run. If you don't score, you can't win, so I hope we'll score this time.”
On the competitiveness of this regional:
“I've said this for years. Any time that you're in a regional, I don't care how it looks to anyone else, you always look at it as one of the toughest. As I said, we didn't score a run on the two TCU pitchers in March and I don't think many people have scored against them since. We didn't see Oklahoma State's best pitching and we couldn't win here. I think it is a difficult region for us. I guarantee Western Kentucky wouldn't be here if they didn't have at least one good pitcher. They have some guys that can swing the bat and anyone that can swing the bat is dangerous, especially in this park.”
Andy Dirks
On playing TCU three times this season:
“Well, it was pretty early in the season and both of our teams are two pretty much different teams now experience-wise. Once you get into the season, the flow changes. They played hard at our place, and our place isn't an easy place to play. We ended up getting three from them, but that doesn't mean anything. All those games could have gone either way. Now in postseason play, all that has passed. Numbers and everything have gone out the door. Whoever comes out on top advances and that's the postseason.”
Rob Musgrave
On living up to the Wichita State legacy:
“As a team, we really try to not look at the legacy of Wichita State. That's pretty tough to live up to. We're just trying to go out and play for ourselves. We have great team chemistry. We just want to go out and play to the best of our ability and do what we can do and not worry about what's been done in the past.”
Conor Gillaspie
On Wichita State's one-game-at-a-time mentality:
“It's something that you have to go out and do. We've been doing it all year. Like I always try to say, chemistry is what carries us this far and it is what has got us here. We're going to have to go out and keep it simple and do what we've been doing. I think if we do that, we have as good as shot as anybody in this regional.”
On if he considers Oklahoma State a rival:
“I haven't been alive long enough to know what it was like in the 80's and early 90's. I don't think a whole lot of our guys think too much about it. I know it's a rival just because I've been at the program for three years. I understand the history of the two teams, but for right now we have to play TCU. We're prepared for them and we know what they've got. We can't think too much about Oklahoma State right now. We are going to have to win a couple games before we get to play them.”
TCU Quotes
TCU Coach Jim Schlossnagle
On TCU getting more recognition:
“I think the farther you get away from Texas, the better our perception is. We're one of only 18 schools that have been to the NCAA tournament five straight years. Ultimately, we want to advance and win in Omaha and that's a lofty goal for a team that's never won a regional. We talk about it every day. The more you play in the NCAA tournament, the more your players get used to playing in it hopefully we'll have success.”
On tomorrow's opponent, Wichita State:
“They have very consistent pitching. The two lefties are different, but they throw a lot of strikes. It's a gritty club. You expect them to be a hard-nosed team playing for Coach Stephenson and certainly they have a guy who could be a star in the major leagues in Gillaspie. They can beat you in a variety of ways. There is enough power in there to get you. They can certainly run the bases. It's a pretty complete group. It's a group I voted highly in the preseason and a top 10 in the country. They have the capability of beating anyone in the country.
On his team's improvement from their early-season trip to Wichita State:
“We aren't remotely the same team. We had a lot of turnover (from the previous season). We lost our entire rotation from last year and two through five in the batting order. So, when we were in Wichita, we were still trying to figure out what uniforms to wear. Tyler Lockwood, who is going to pitch for us on Friday, wasn't in the rotation at the time. I thought we completed well up there, but we are a much different ball club now.”
On his team's strength of schedule:
“One thing we did differently this year was boost our schedule. We played tougher teams so when we get into these situations, we aren't freaked out by playing one of the most storied programs in the history of our sport: Wichita State.”
Andrew Cashner
On facing Wichita State after being swept by the Shockers early in the year:
“When we played them up there, it was probably low 30's, high 20's. It was pretty cold. We were used to the hot weather back in Texas, but that's no excuse. We didn't play well. We didn't pitch very well that weekend. Now, we have a different starter than when we were up there. We're going to go out there and play like we have these past few games. We've been hitting the ball really well lately. Our Friday night guy is pretty good. One thing I remember about them is Conor Gillaspie. He hit pretty well against us and their pitchers were good. The ball doesn't really carry well there and it flies out here. It is going to be an interesting game for us.”
On changes from last year's NCAA regional team:
“This year our pitching staff has been something that has carried us a lot. I think our hitters have started to pick us up when we're not pitching that well. It's been a big thing lately because we've been hitting really well.”
Matt Carpenter
On TCU being the No. 3 seed in the Stillwater Regional: “A three seed won the national championship last year. I don't think seed matters much at all.”
On Wichita State:
“There's no doubt that Wichita State is a great program with a lot of tradition. We're trying to get on a more national scale like they are and obviously get to the World Series. They're a great ball club and we're looking forward to playing them.”
On the keys to winning tomorrow:
“With this ballpark, I think it is going to be whoever plays the best defense. We just hit here for the first time and the ball travels pretty well. I feel like the team who pitches the best and plays the best defense is going to come out on top.”
Western Kentucky Quotes
Western Kentucky Coach Chris Finwood
On his team's mindset:
“We try to keep it as normal as all the rest of our pregame workouts when we go on the road. We try to learn about the field, how it plays and how it goes as far as the grass. We haven't changed a thing from that standpoint. It's a pretty loose bunch and they had a good workout today and I'm proud of them. I didn't sense any nervousness. There will be some butterflies I'm sure tomorrow night. Once that first pitch is thrown, you get back into baseball. We've done it 60 times this year, so I think we'll get back into that routine and play well.”
On the importance of hitting:
“This time of year you're going to face a good arm no matter who you're playing. You've just got to have competitive bats in there and productive at bats and hopefully some timely hits.”
On playing in a smaller ball park than his team is used to:
“You can't change the way you play. I didn't think it played awfully small today. Obviously the left field does with the wind blowing out there. The rest of the park played fairly big. We haven't changed anything in how we approach the game. We may try to throw right-handers away a little more. It just depends on what the wind is doing. We have the advantage of watching a game too. This will give us an idea of how the park plays.”
On pitcher Matt Ridings:
“He's our guy. He's perfectly capable of beating anyone in the country. When you play good ball clubs, if you make some mistakes, they can be magnified. He'll have to be at the top of his game and so will our defense. If that happens, we will have a chance to be in the ball game and hopefully get some big hits.”
On his team:
“They're excited to play these teams. It's not like we've been playing chopped liver all season. We know these are outstanding baseball programs and we've got a lot of respect for them, but we certainly aren't scared of them.”
On Oklahoma State:
“We know their pitching numbers are outstanding and offensively they've got a lot of good power numbers. Ole Miss was kind of like that when we played them this year. I see some similarities between those two teams. We are playing on their field, so obviously that is their advantage. They're familiar with everything about the ball park and we're not. When you do that, you've got to look out there and mimic them a little bit to see where the outfielders play, how deep the infielders play. You've got to learn something from them because they play here every day.”
On Allie P. Reynolds Stadium:
“It's a very nice park. It's in great shape. It really is a pretty ball park and I'm excited about playing here.
Chad Cregar
On tomorrow's game with Matt Ridings pitching:
“He's been there all year and we're very confident having him on the mound. Playing behind someone with that special of an arm makes us pretty confident. It's going to be tough. They got some arms they're going to throw at us. Oklahoma State has some pretty good numbers.”
On Western Kentucky's focus:
“Game by game. You can't look to the future and worry about what's going to happen on Saturday. You have to take it one game at a time.”
