2009 NCAA Baseball Championships Part 3
June 07, 2009 | Baseball
UC IRVINE HEAD COACH Mike Gillespie
Overall Statement "First of all, it was a long day. It was a great baseball game! We're extrodinarily proud of our own guys on how they competed and how they played. Hats off to Virginia as they're a really, really, really good team as they really played well. I'm really proud of this team."
Thoughts on his seniors
"We'll talk with the seniors tomorrow and the next few days. But, we really wanted to stress out on how we're really proud of our seniors on how they played this season and that they were ready to compete on the field."
On Virginia's Super Regional Outlook
"Well, I think Virginia will play great wherever they play as they demonstrated this weekend at our regional. Again, hats off to them as they deserve to move on to the next round."
SENIOR Ben Orloff
On how the game was close
"Yeah, it's disappointing to end like that because we fought battles all day. And like Coach said, we laid it on the line today and to end it like that is disappointing."
On coming out of the losers bracket
"We battled all day. We had great pitching performances from Noel and Kyle who stepped in big for us. But, anytime you play a team like Virginia, it's going to be tough."
On maybe being worn out from the first game
"We actually felt pretty good going into the first game. We sat around all day at the hotel just waiting to play. But, we're definitely tired now as we competed hard and it was a long day."
Thoughts on his career at Irvine
"Yeah, God has blessed me so much. I was fortunate to be here and play for a coach like Coach Gillespie and play with teammates like I have. I can't say enough on how much UC Irvine means to me and the last four years on what it has meant to me."
JUNIOR Jeff Cusick
On Virginia's two triples
"The ball was hit pretty hard and I'm just trying to go after it and catch it. If I do catch it, the chances of it being a double-play, I wouldn't have let it go. On the second one, I thought I would of have caught it if the ball was high and I know our pitcher would of done a good job getting over and making the play."
JUNIOR Casey Stevenson
Thoughts on how impressive Virginia played
"They pitched really well. They're never going to give in and pitch you fastballs. They mix it up very well and that's what makes them very tough to beat. You have to be on top in order to beat them. Two things went their way. They make great plays out on the field and they're very tough to beat."
