The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Postgame quotes: Game 2 of NCAA Baseball Austin Regional
05.29.2009 | Baseball
May 29, 2009
Texas Head Coach Augie Garrido
Opening statement: I think part of the story I'd like to start with belongs to Army. Their pitcher was outstanding. He stayed focused on his responsibilities. Their team played extremely well behind him. They were very well disciplined as we would have imagined, but I think their performance was very admirable. It was strong and consistent in a lot of different ways. If it hadn't been for the magic of Cole Green, this could have been a different game all together. Cole proved that this game is really not that difficult. You hit the ball. You throw it over the plate and strike people out. You give them one run. You give them four hits. You lay down a perfect bunt after not practicing. He walks up with two strikes and it's a single to left. Nothing to it. It was a perfect moment for him in his Longhorn career. It was really outstanding. Had Army not played as well as they did, nearly a perfect game, then it wouldn't have put as much credibility to Cole's side of it. He had to do that to make it work.
On Brandon Belt's injury: He started to feel better. He may have a slight concussion along with the slice in his ear. He's feeling better at last report from the hospital. He started to joke around a little bit. He's regaining his personality, so that's a very good sign. But he was dizzy and he was lightheaded for quite awhile after that, so they'll keep him for observation to be sure he's okay. Preston (Clark) did a great job of filling in. He's that kind of athlete. He can walk out to any place on the baseball field and be an asset to the team.
On injuries in the post-season: What happens in these situations where you get injuries, especially during playoffs, it offers opportunities to people that maybe have been struggling before and sometimes brilliant things happen. It's really pretty cool. Sometimes it doesn't and you just live with it. But sometimes big surprises take place as a result of these things.
Texas DH/1B Preston Clark
On winning the first game in the regional: It's huge. It builds confidence for the team. We felt great. We didn't get hits when we needed to in some situations, but when we needed to in others, we did and it put us on top. Taking the first game is huge for us. Now we just have to build on that and carry it to the next game.
On his performance: We certainly didn't expect what happened to Belt to occur, but just like Coach told me, I just need to be ready in these situations. In the Big 12 Championship when Rupp went down, I came in and tried to fill the spot. I'm just trying to stay focused on the game throughout it. Whenever I get my chance, I go in there and play and make the best of it.
Texas P Cole Green
On his performance tonight: My at-bat has got to be a first on the college level for me. It was a great moment. Obviously, I didn't really think about anything and just tried to compete and do what we're told. At first when Belt got injured, I thought there was some way we were going to have another DH or have something go right. Coach looked at me and said hey, you're going to have to hit. I thought I was up next. Fortunately, I was up last. Once he looked at me and said I was going to have to hit, I figured if there's a runner at first and nobody out, I'd just bunt. If I happen to lead off the inning or get up with two outs, I'd get to swing it. Luckily, both those opportunities happened and it went my way.
Texas C Cameron Rupp
On Cole Green's performance: He did all the magic. Ask him how he did it. We make it look hard sometimes, but it's baseball. It's really unpredictable. You just have to let everything happen.
Army Head Coach Joe Sottolano
General statement: I'd first like to congratulate Texas for a fine ball game. They played well obviously. They were very detail-oriented, and they came away with a win. They did what was necessary to win. They obviously showed that they can execute and push guys across to score runs, and they did it well. They are obviously a well-coached team, disciplined team. The pitchers throw strikes and they throw a couple pitches for strikes. Their pitchers did a fine job. I was impressed with the way our guys competed. We didn't come down here just to compete though. We came down here to win. Honestly, I want to strap it on and play again right now against them.
On Cole Green's performance: He did a fine job. Especially when you go into a ball game like this with a lot of emotion, these guys are anxious. When you have a guy who's competing in the zone early with fastballs and you're anxious, you're just getting a lot of first-pitch outs. That's something we really haven't done a lot of this year. We came out of the gate a little bit overly aggressive, and he did a great job using that to his advantage. He started to elevate the ball a little bit and we started to hit some balls hard. We hit a couple balls at people that I thought were fairly good at-bats. He mixed his pitches well, and I thought they got him out exactly when they should have. They did what they needed to do to win.
On any surprises playing against Texas: Obviously it's a very well-coached team. I think they were exactly what we thought in terms of defense, on the mound and well-coached. I thought Matt [Fouch] did an outstanding job pitching today and really did a good job keeping them off balance. I think they're a solid baseball team, I really do. I think they rely on their pitching and defense, and that's what wins championships and baseball games. That's exactly what they bring to the table.
Army P Matt Fouch
On plunking Brandon Belt in the first inning: We were trying to go inside. We gave him two curveballs in a row and wanted to go inside on him. It was pretty hot out there and my hands were sweating. I did not mean to go in that far, but it just slipped, went up there and got him.
Army LF Ben Koenigsfeld
On facing Cole Green: He located three pitches for strikes and put hitters in uncomfortable situations. Everything he pitched had a little movement on it. Nothing was flat. He was staying away from the middle of the plate and moving it around, which was tough on the hitters.