University of North Carolina Athletics
Carolina Player Quotes
June 3, 2003 | Baseball
On the season in general...
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"I think this team has started to come together and mesh more than we did last season. We've come together both on and off the field. We've come a very long way since February."
On playing South Carolina...
"I'm excited about it. We were there last year, so we'll be used to the atmosphere.
We've heard their fans, we know how rabid they'll be. We also remember how hot it
was there.
"We know they've got really good pitching.
"Playing at Mississippi St. was good preparation. That's the best place in college at which you can play."
On putting last weekend behind you...
"We had a couple of days to think about it, but now we're trying to put it behind us.
We've got a tough road ahead of us, but I think we can make it to Omaha."
On being a 2nd round draft pick...
"I'm excited about it, but right now all I'm focused on is this weekend in Columbia.
We want to go to Omaha.
"I found out about my draft selection here at practice. Coach Williams pulled me aside and told me. My heart jumped a little since I wasn't expecting to go that high. It's a great opportunity, but we've also got an opportunity to go to Omaha. That's all I'm thinking about now. I don't need to have the draft on my mind at this point in time.
On going to Columbia...
"It's a great rivalry, you know it will be a hostile crowd. We don't get to play them as much
as we'd like to, it just hasn't worked out. You've got three things going against you when
you go down there. Their rabid fans, the heat, plus they've always got a great ball club.
"We've got to go down there and play with a lot of confidence like we did last weekend.
"I didn't pitch very well down there last year. I have a chance to redeem myself. I want to lead our team and pitch a little better this year. I need to focus on what I've been doing well this season and repeat it down in Columbia."
On why the team was able to play so well at Mississippi St.
"I think it was from having played at places like Florida St. and Clemson. The
atmosphere didn't bother us too much like it may have a lot of teams.
"We know we have a good team, but we needed those wins to really prove it to ourselves. We know we can win a regional now."
On where he's more comfortable, at catcher or first base...
"I'm more comfortable behind the plate. It's a benefit for us that we have both
myself and Chris (Iannetta). It's not a situation where it's just one of us back
there everyday, getting beaten up and worn out. When Chris got hurt and I had to
catch all three games against Wake Forest, I was just drained.
"It's a nice luxury that we're able to keep both of us fresh. Mississippi St. had to use their same catcher every game, and you could tell by the end of the tournament that he was just worn out.
"I assume that we'll alternate behind the plate this weekend just like we basically have done all year."
On how the freshmen have played this year...
"They've come up big all year long. Adam Kalkhof has been fabulous for us all year long.
Adam Greenberg was the best center fielder I've every seen, but Blair Waggett is starting
to fill that void. He made two unbelievable catches last weekend.
"Mike Daniel hit a pinch hit homer that kept us in the Missouri game. We needed them to step up, and hopefully they'll keep it going."
On his performance last weekend...
"I just wanted to go out there and do my job and do it well. I feel like as an outfielder
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"I got good jumps on both of them and just laid myself out there. I knew I had good outfielders backing me up so I wasn't afraid of the ball getting by me.
"I thought I was going to get the first one, but the second one I wasn't so sure about. It was placed where, if it had been any farther away at all, I couldn't have caught it."
On his hitting...
"Hitters have their ups and downs. Right now I feel like I'm in a groove. You never know, the
next game it could be different, but I'm just going to go out there with confidence and hope
to have a good game."
On his improvement as an outfielder this year...
"I had a rough fall last year and lost some confidence, but after being out there this year,
as the season has progressed, things have started to slow down a little bit. I'm much more
comfortable now, and I have total confidence in the other two outfielders."
On is experience in Starkville
"I've never experienced anything like it. I'll never forget it. I'd love to go back there for
years to come.
"You couldn't find more hospitable people on the planet. Even after we won the final game they wanted us to come out and eat with them behind the outfield, and we did.
"The food was amazing. They had everything you could want. They had filet mignon, fried catfish, fried bologna, dove, deer, hamburgers, steaks, you name it they had. Plus, they knew how to cook it.
"Their fans were unbelievable."
On his grand slam home run against Mississippi State...
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On his chemistry with Chad Prosser...
"I love working with Chad. It's great to come out everyday and get to practice with him.
You have to cherish the opportunity to work with guys like Chad, Adam Weaver and Justin Webb.
We all get along very well.
"The camaraderie of the whole team is good. That's why we've been able to win some close games. Everybody pulls hard for everybody else. Everyone feels like we're going to win no matter what the situation is. Down at Mississippi St. we could have packed it in during Sunday's first game, but we didn't. We know we always have a shot, so we kept our heads up and good things happened to us."
On envisioning a regional final back in February...
"We could envision it, since Omaha is always your goal, but it's more like a fantasy back then.
Now we're two wins away. It's right on our finger tips.
"We've just got to go get it. Hopefully we'll have a better outcome than we did last year down there."
On his game-tying home run on Sunday...
"I was just hoping it would stay fair. A lot of times when I hit the ball down the line it
will hook foul, but I was able to get inside it real well. It started out about 30 feet fair.
I don't know where it went over the fence, but I definitely got all of it.
"It was a fastball in."
On the competitiveness of this team...
"I would call us a tenacious, scrappy group of guys who will do anything to win. I think that's
why we've been as successful as we have. We've got guys like Greg Mangum who's not only fantastic
defensively, but such a fiery guy.
"This team has just meshed well together this year."
On Coach Fox's talk to the team after the ACC Tournament...
"I agree with what he said. We've had some guys who had just not gotten it done in key
situations, and that was a good wake-up call for all of us. Everyone basically came
through when they had a chance to last weekend.
"The things he said needed to be said, and he said them well."
