June 7, 2003

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North Carolina Head Coach Mike Fox

On today’s game: “I would like to congratulate Ray Tanner, his staff and his ballclub for getting to Omaha in back to back seasons. That is an outstanding achievement, especially after losing a lot of players from last year’s team. They outplayed us today and deserved to win. Their team is playing well and with great confidence.”

On two-out hits: “Two-out hits are what it takes to win at this time of year. We were able to get them and win at Mississippi State, but we did not get it done here. That is just the way the game is. Sometimes you hit the ball right at people and sometimes it finds a hole. South Carolina stepped up and got it done with people on base. That is what you have to do in these games.”

On his offense: “We had trouble getting the lead-off man on base today. It seemed like every time we were in a position to score and had runners on base, we also had two outs. Steven Bondurant threw well for them. We knew what was coming, with breaking balls about 75 percent of the time, but he put them where they needed to be.”

On the location of the NCAA draw: “I just hope we are in a position to be in the draw next season. You have no control over who you play and where you play. We want to be in this position. If I had the opportunity to play in the Super Regional the next five years and they all were in Columbia, I would take it. It means you are among the final 16 teams left with a chance to reach Omaha.”

On the experience difference between pitchers: “Bondurant pitched like a fifth-year senior. He has worked his way up through the years. He fought and worked himself into the rotation and realized all that the hard way. Adam Kalkhof has pitched in big games for us this year, but he did that as a freshman. The experience in starting pitchers was to their advantage.”

North Carolina RF Jeremy Cleveland

On not getting timely hitting: “It was disappointing, today we needed more timely hitting. We did not play any parts of the game well today, our pitching and defense was not there. Hits come and go we just did not get the right ones today.”

North Carolina C Ryan Blake

On the home field advantage at Sarge Frye Field: “I don’t think it necessarily hurt us. We have played in all kinds of parks. Last week we played at Mississippi State and that was unbelievable. Fans don’t bother us. They have a great following and hats off to them, but I am so proud of our guys. This was unbelievable. I promise UNC will be back in this position again.”

On a budding rivalry between UNC and USC: “I think there is a rivalry between the teams after yesterday. This definitely starts a rivalry between us and them.”

South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner

“When won the regional in Atlanta last weekend and North Carolina won that regional in Starkville, MS the first thing I saw in the press release was that the last time that the Tarheels went to the College World Series they went via Starkville to get there. I really didn’t like the omen-like tone of that. I knew coming in that they had really great club and I knew it was going to be a real challenge. I just can’t say enough about our team. We had trouble finding combinations and struggled earlier this year. I just can’t say enough about how resilient that this team is.”

On making it back to the College World Series through a tough season: “I’ve always been told that there are very few steps between the outhouse and the penthouse. When you have guys like David Marchbanks and Steven Boundurant and a staff that has been solid and we just always waited for our offense came around.”

On USC fans: “I was thinking today that this has to be a difficult place to come in and play. Our home record has been amazing. Coach Fox and I were talking about how great our fans are and you just can’t thank them enough”

South Carolina 3B Brian Buscher

On Omaha: “The biggest thing is to not be overwhelmed by the crowds.”

On one of his two HR’s: “It helps when you have 7000 people yelling for you. It gives you a feeling that you can not explain.”

South Carolina C Landon Powell

On mid-season sacrificing ritual: “We are college baseball players, and we do weird things. We just got together and each put one thing in a barrel and then set it on fire.”

On Coach Tanner: “Coach Tanner has always been a stern guy, but he always means well.

South Carolina P Steven Bondurant

On his outing today: “I felt good out there, I knew North Carolina had a good offense. I was just trying to play damage control early.”

“It feels good to go out and have a good outing for your team.”

On going back to Omaha: “Last year was a great experience, It is going to be great to get to go back to Omaha.”