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Postgame Quotes - Game 7: St. John's vs. Virginia
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Charlottesville Regional
No. 3 St. John’s 3, No. 1 Virginia 5
Postgame Quotes | June 7, 2010
St. John’s Quotes
Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer
Opening statement:
“First, let me start out by commending how the University of Virginia conducted themselves out there. It was first class, and they did an outstanding job-very helpful and very classy. Secondly, I would like to say that the University of Virginia fans were first class, and they supported their team in very classy manner. It was a good crowd and a good baseball environment. Lastly, I’d like to congratulate Brian O’Connor, his staff, and his team-I thought they did an outstanding job. They deserved to win, they were the better team tonight, and I think that team has the opportunity to host a super regional and certainly a shot at taking home that trophy at Omaha. Reflecting, [our team] played neck-and-neck the entire night and last night-a couple of little things here and there cost us the game, but that’s baseball. We expected it, and they played a great game tonight. I thought we played our ‘A’ game tonight.”
On missed opportunities:
“I’d like to have them back for sure, but that’s baseball. We’ve gotten big hits, but tonight, we just didn’t get the big hits. I think tonight the big difference in the game was their speed. When you play at this level, you cannot afford to make mistakes. Virginia played their ‘A’ game tonight, and they beat us fair and square.”
On Virginia pitcher Kevin Arico’s outing:
“We knew he was a slide baller that hits on the outside corner of the plate. You throw those balls and you’re not going to hit them-I don’t care who it is. He would have to make mistakes, and he didn’t make many mistakes. The kid can pitch, and he hits that corner and lives off that corner.”
Freshman Kyle Hansen
On Virginia’s aggressiveness on offense:
“I knew they were going to come out aggressive, and they’re a great lineup-probably one of the best lineups we’ve faced all year. I knew they were going to come out swinging the bat early, and the hitters seemed to find the ball.”
On mentality going into the game:
“I just wanted to keep my team in the game as long as I could go.”
Sophomore Matt Wessinger
On Cavalier pitcher Kevin Arico’s outing:
“When we were at the Big East Tournament, I saw him pitch on TV some, and I kind of knew he liked to go with the slider, so I was looking for that up there. He likes to keep it down and away, so my focus up there was to stay the other way and stay inside the ball. It’s a good slider obviously.”
Virginia Quotes
Head Coach Brian O’Connor
Opening statement:
“Unbelievable win. First, I want to say how great of a team, and how well coached St. John’s is. I tell you what, they’re going to be a team to reckon with the next couple of years. That was a two-game battle that we had with them, but I told the team last night and I told the team before we went out for batting practice today that they’ve got something special about them that they’ve had all year. They’ve been very resilient, obviously they’re talented, and they performed in the clutch today. The job Branden Kline did today on that stage, facing elimination was just incredible, and Kevin Arico had his longest outing of the year. I didn’t know how long he would last, but I knew he would give us everything he had. We did enough offensively to win the ballgame. We’re very fortunate and we’re excited about the opportunity we have next week.”
On starting Branden Kline:
“I thought about it last night, and Branden Kline was our freshest arm. When you go through a season, you plan on things that could potentially happen down the road, and this is why Branden Kline gets a start against Coastal Carolina, and this is why Branden Kline starts Game 1 against Miami when we go down there. You get an opportunity to see what someone’s capable of against a really good club, knowing you could potentially be in a Game Four in a regional. You try to find what a kid’s capable of and whether they can handle that.”
On significance in winning at home:
“One would think, but to tell you the truth, I never really thought about it. We can’t put added pressure on ourselves because we’re hosting. We’ve got a really great club. I think our club is capable of winning whether we play in Charlottesville or the North Pole-I don’t know. It’s great we won it at home because our fans deserve this. Our fans have come out and supported us all year long, and that was obvious this weekend.”
Junior Kevin Arico:
On longest outing of the year:
“The fans definitely help out in that category. The environment tonight was amazing, and it was more adrenaline than anything else out there.”
“Of course I’m accustomed to going out there and doing one inning, but if the team asks me to go out there and do three, four, or five innings, I’m going to go out there and do my best. I’ve got to be ready for everything.”
“That’s the ballgame. Baseball’s a crazy game, and coming to the yard today, I thought I had a chance to go more than one inning. Like I said, it’s all about what you can do for the team and getting it done.”
Freshman Branden Kline
On thoughts pitching in elimination game:
“Today, I wasn’t really nervous about it. As soon as I let go of the first pitch in today’s game, all nerves went away and I knew I just had to go out there and pitch and compete. I just had to throw strikes. That’s a great St. John’s lineup they had there, and they’ll definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the next few years. I just tried to make my pitches and keep the game close.”
Sophomore Keith Werman
On leaving runners on base and missed opportunities:
“You can definitely get frustrated out there when you can’t come through and execute, but the important thing was to clear that out, go out there and play defense, and work behind the pitching staff, and then get out there in the next inning.”