University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina vs. Virginia Postgame Quotes
May 26, 2007 | Baseball
May 26, 2007
NORTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH Mike Fox
Overall thoughts on the game...
"This was obviously a big win for us over a really good Virginia team; one of the best teams we have played all year. I feel fortunate that we won. I thought that (Casey) Lambert and fortunately Alex (White) matched him pitch for pitch. We are excited to have won."
On calling Kyle Shelton's double and Reid Fronk's bunt to get things started...
"No, I didn't call that. Kyle Shelton missed the sacrifice bunt sign when he doubled and therefore, I'd rather be lucky than good any day. I'll forgive him any day for that. Reid told Timmy (Fedroff) not to be surprised if he bunted. The kids are pretty good and know what they are doing. That was a great thing for Reid to even think of doing. He was looking at a breaking ball first pitch and with Doolittle holding our runner on, it turned out to be a great play."
NORTH CAROLINA RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER Alex White
On looking determined out there...
"I felt like I had to go out there and pitch it as hard as I could, especially the first batter in each inning. Robert Woodard gave me good advice before the game. He said, `Just out-compete the other players and just try to do the best that you can."
NORTH CAROLINA LEFT FIELDER Reid Fronk
On your bunt to start things off...
"I went over to (Tim) Fedroff right before and said, `Don't be surprised that if they bring the leftie out of the pin then I will bunt.' They started off with that breaking ball and then I threw it up and left it in the zone long enough to get on and get us going. It is one of those things - I don't bunt that much to a hit, but it was just the right time to do it."
VIRGINIA HEAD COACH BRIAN O'CONNOR
Overall thoughts on the game...
"It's obviously disappointing to be out of the tournament. I thought Casey Lambert had a great start and really gave us a chance to win, but White pretty much dominated. He was very, very good. I thought we hit some balls very good that were knocked down by the wind. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a clutch hit. At the end of the game, we let an inning get out of hand and put the game out of reach. When you face a pitching staff like North Carolina, you can't make mistakes like that. You have to hold them down. They have a great offense and I thought we did a great job up until that eighth inning."
On the new tournament format...
"We're 2-1 in this tournament and with the old format, we would still be playing. But that's the breaks. I like this format and I'm in favor of it continuing in the future. The reality is that we had a chance to go to the championship game with a win today and we don't deserve to go to the title game because North Carolina beat us. They were the better team today and they will have a chance to play for the title tomorrow."
VIRGINIA LEFT-HANDED PITCHER CASEY LAMBERT
On his outing...
"It felt good. I didn't really tire too much there in the latter innings. I was kind of surprised that my stuff stayed as sharp as it was early on. I got a little fatigued, a little out of breath because it was so hot out there, but I thought my command got a little better after I settled in. I look to be able to go even deeper next week."
