University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina Baseball Postgame Quotes
June 21, 2008 | Baseball
Game 10 (North Carolina vs. LSU)
Hall of Fame Room, Rosenblatt Stadium
Friday, June 20, 2008
North Carolina Head Coach Mike Fox
(opening statement): "I'd like to congratulate Paul and LSU on a terrific season. They're a great team. We were fortunate to beat them twice. Their two pitchers were outstanding. We just hung around. We ran our best five guys out there. You saw why we think Dustin Ackley is one of the best players in America. My team has a lot of heart. We finally hit a mistake. They didn't make many of them. We're happy to still be playing."
(About UNC's success with Dustin Ackley being on base): "You saw that tonight. He's a table setter for us. That's why we've had him in the leadoff spot three fourths of the season. It helps us."
North Carolina catcher Tim Federowicz
(about his grand slam): "It was a great feeling getting up there with the bases loaded in the College World Series. He hung a slider and I was able to catch one. I struggled a little bit, but I was hitting the ball hard. I was confident with the bases loaded. It's a lot of fun."
North Carolina pitcher Alex White
(about pitching in relief tonight vs. being a starter): "It was a lot of fun coming in with a big situation. The walk to Gibbs was not what we wanted. The Clark walk wasn't so bad. I knew I had to throw strikes. I couldn't walk anyone else."
North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley
(about LSU pitcher Daniel Bradshaw and whether his arm was getting tired): "Obviously his arm was getting tired so his pitches sink more."
LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri
(opening statement): "My most overwhelming emotion is that I'm hurting very badly because the team gave everything and left it all on the field. We ran out of miracles. I'll look back on the season with fond thoughts, but it hurts right now. Our kids competed as hard as they could and obviously we want the season to go on forever but tonight it came to an abrupt halt. North Carolina deserves to move on. They are a very well coached team with outstanding pitching and were a little bit better than we were tonight."
(about Jared Bradford's performance): "What Jared did on two days of rest is what legends are made of. I'll be telling kids about him for years to come."
(about opportunities missed) "We had a tremendous opportunity in the bottom of the eighth with DJ Lemahieu at bat and had all the confidence in the world in him but it just didn't happen in that inning.
(about intentional walk): "I've already questioned if I did the right thing but I would do the same if I had to do it over again.
LSU pitcher Jared Bradford
(about pitching after two days rest): "It's tough bouncing back after two days but we hoped for the double-play ball and it worked out. That ignited a fire and was exactly what we needed."
(about the team's performance and career): "We're taught to leave everything on the field and the team did that tonight. I definitely have no regrets. I'm proud to say my last years were at LSU and I wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere else."
LSU first baseman Matt Clark
(about UNC pitching): "North Carolina kept us off balance with the different pitchers they can bring out of their bullpen. They've thrown well all year and that's not going to change at the College World Series."
