June 3, 2007
Head Coach Pat Murphy
On the game:
It wasn't real pretty. They were down in the bottom of their pitching and it felt like our guys strung a bunch of hits together. We had a lot of things go our way. has really over achieved in this tournament, playing in the finals and it was a pretty close game at the top of the seventh. Second and third, nobody out. I felt like we had some clutch hitting. When you put up four or more runs in an inning, three times, you are bound to win. I thought Jarvis came in and took control of the game. I think that that settle everything down. Once he came into the game it was over for them. It gave us a lot of confidence and we put up a bunch of runs. I think we scored 10 runs after Jarvis came into the game. [Josh] Satow wasn't his normal self. They were getting a lot of cheap hits off of him. He had to throw extra pitches and got tired. I thought from a pitching stand point he did get into the sixth and made some good pitches. And then Jarvis took over after that and continues to improve. This kid has only been with us since April. Think about that. This kid has 11 saves and has been with us since April. That is pretty special. We had a lot of great contributors tonight. [Brett] Wallace started getting his stroke back so we got his normal four hits. Kiel Roling was sensational two strike hits. Petey Paramore, the most underrated player on the team was fabulous. Spencer got some big hits for us.
Infielder CJ Retherford
On his talk new role as pinch hitter:
I wasn't trying to hit a homerun actually. I was trying to hit it to right center. That's all I was trying to do. It has been like that all year, late hitting. I'm just sticking with it.
On the seventh inning:
I wasn't too worried. When Jarvis comes in he is a very mature baseball player. He knows how to settle things down a lot. I was fine. I thought he did a great job and he's done it before. I think everybody had complete confidence in him.
First Baseman Brett Wallace
On the seventh inning:
I think everyone knew our offense wasn't done either. Our offense has done a great job all year, never given up. And if they tied the game up, we weren't going to let them, but if they had, I think we knew we weren't done and we were going to keep going.
Nebraska Head Coach Mike Anderson
On the game against ASU:
I thought we played a pretty darn good baseball game all the way around. We got off to a good start on the offensive side, but we didn't get off to a good start on the other side. I was real pleased that our kids kept fighting. It was 9-7 in the seventh and it felt like we had something going. You have to give credit to what ASU is doing. There offense is probably the best we've seen in the country. They're pretty dynamic. They get after it. They've got a great approach to things. Just a tremendous amount of credit to what they did. I'm proud of our kids for fighting back. I'm proud of our kids for the long day they endoured today and they got after it. With this club we've been talking about the fight and learning to fight for each other and learning to battle for each other. I'm proud to say, near the end of the year that these kids learned how to do that.
On ASU's grand slam in the seventh inning:
Most of our guys have been used in that situation. I don't fault [Matt Foust]. We had to go to guys who were a little bit tired. I don't fault those guys, any of those guys we put in. They've had good years and done some good things late in the game in that situation. They're wanting the ball. They're asking for it. It just didn't work out. Those are guys that got it done for us all year long. The kids stepped up to the plate and did a good job.
Third Baseman Craig Corriston
On playing a double header in the heat:
That didn't have anything to do with it tonight. I don't think so. I felt like we were in the game through the seventh inning tonight. It just kind of blew up on us. I don't think the heat had anything to do with it.
Designated Hitter Jeff Tezak
On the winner's bracket's effect on the game:
It might be the winner's bracket because they could pick their starters and we had to go with everyone. We were fighting and it was just a battle. In the end they came out on top.
On the seventh inning:
I just think we were going out each inning trying to battle and come back. And in that inning, the momentum started to swing. I just think if we could have gotten that one last run it would have put us one run away. We were close and we felt it.
Pitcher Dan Jennings
On ASU's offense:
They hit the ball hard and they hit it off everyone. I just wanted to go out there and give ourselves a chance. I thought we had it. I think everyone felt like we had momentum there for a while. It was good. Everyone felt good about it. It just kind of slipped away.