June 12, 2010
– South Carolina Head Coach Ray Tanner
Opening remarks
“When that game ended I talked to Coach Gilmore for a second and the response was wow. It was an incredible ball game; so much was going on in that ball game. It was an incredible game. They have a tremendous team and our guys battled hard. The situation we put Matt Price in, for him to get out of that you have to be Houdini to get out of that. Blake Cooper pitched his heart out, Wingo made a big play, so much just happened in that game. It certainly will be another battle tomorrow.”
The start
“It was a great start. We had a drop ball and a couple walks, but other than a two run single there wasn’t much offense from us in there. We had other opportunities, we needed everything. It was a great college baseball game and I’m grateful for our fans. They worked hard to support us and they made sure they knew we were there and our guys appreciated that.”
What to do in preparation for Sunday
“I play the game back and play it forward. I took a walk last night past curfew. You try to figure it, you never do, but you try to figure it out. You try to be in the best position we can be and try to be prepared for all the scenarios that may come.”
On Price
“He has been pretty good for us throughout the season and special during some other times too, but he was really special today. They took some good hacks at him and he made some good pitches, and got some balls passed with some movement, which is tough to do against their team; they’re outstanding offensively.”
South Carolina relief pitcher Matt Price
After the 8th
“I was a little pumped, but I knew I had to go back out there for one more inning to get the job done.”
“The first batter I tried to spot up with my fastball and threw him a slider and I got him on a K. The next batter I used I’d say five sliders and I got him on a slider outside. The next batter hit it right back at me and I got it to first.”
“I like pitching off of adrenaline, it gets you pumped. You go out there to throw as hard as you can and that’s what I do.”
“We wanted to go out there and fight; we fight every inning, every at-bat and every pitch. I was amped and everyone was amped.”
South Carolina starting pitcher Blake Cooper
On his day
“I have to give credit to their guys. I see why they bat .320 .330. They battle with two strikes and they don’t swing at many bad pitches. I just threw one bad pitch to him and he hit it out. As a starting pitcher, you want to come out of that phase and you just want to stay strong throughout the game.”
South Carolina second baseman Scott Wingo
On the falling double play
“I broke off the middle; luckily he tipped it off his glove or something. I just kind of waited for it to get off the bag and waited a little bit and I threw.”
