2006 BSB vs. Minnesota -- Postgame Quotes
5/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Michgian Head Coach Rich Maloney
On his reaction to winning the Big Ten Conference tournament ... "In my 11 years as a head coach we had the best team in the Mid-American Conference in four of the seven years I was at Ball State and never won a tournament championship. That was the big monkey that had to come off the back. To win today, I told the boys I really wanted this off my back. It would mean a lot to me for you guys to be the ones to do it because you guys are a very special team with what you've already accomplished this year is outstanding. If we don't do it I'm extremely proud of you. But let's go for it. It's a very special moment for me. I'm very happy for our kids, especially our seniors -- Jeff Kunkel, our captain, Paul Hammond, Drew Taylor and A.J. Scheidt. It was truly a team effort. We had great leadership and these guys believed in me. From last year's team, which was an outstanding team, we lost 300 innings on the mound and our two-, three- and four-hole hitters and yet we had a better season than last year, so now we have a program. That's what I was hired to build. Now we've solidified our program. That's really gratifying when you see kind of your dream for what you're trying to do come through."
On his feelings about heading to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row ... "I thought when we got win number 39 I thought we would be in the NCAA Tournament only nobody really knows but I really felt in my heart winning the Big Ten (regular-season) championship and getting 39 (would do it). Then when we did 40 it was a foregone conclusion. Then when we won yesterday in the second game I knew we were in. There was no way they could turn us down. Then today it was a chance to just say that you truly are the best. This year that's inarguable. We were 23-9 in the Big Ten regular season and then 4-1 in this, so 27-10. We were 5-0 against Ohio State, who was the preseason favorite. We were 5-2 against Minnesota, who was picked third, and 3-1 against Purdue, who was picked second. We proved we were the team and I'm proud of that."
On how he feels about the offense at this point ... "The bats needed to perk up. I thought it was just on the horizon. I really believe in this team. I believe we're a good hitting team. We were in a lull for about three weeks. I knew that just over time sheer baseball percentages say that if you keep hitting the ball sooner or later it's going to start falling in. To the kids' credit, they battled and they faced all the best that the tournament had to offer when everyone is playing their best. We've found a way to the baseball and it's great to finally win some games with the bat because we've won most of our games with pitching and defense."
On the team's momentum leading into the NCAA Tournament ... "I have no idea who we'll play. We'll have that privilege to find out tomorrow, which will be an exciting time for our baseball family. It certainly doesn't hurt us. The kids are playing with a great deal of confidence. We'll have to see how we are physically after this. This is very draining. I mean, Kunkel with the job that he did. We have to see how all of our pitchers are to set up this weekend for the regional. I told the kids that you guys proved that you're truly the best in the Big Ten. You're the Big Ten champions. Now we have to go out and represent our conference and we should expect to win. I don't know where they're going to send us. We won't be a number one seed, but we might very well be a number two seed. We probably should be. That thing is wide open. If you throw strikes and you don't walk many, although we walked many but we got down in our staff, and you make the routine plays, which we didn't play the stellar defense we had been playing, you can win any game. Last year in our first regional we were probably a little bit nervous. It was new for all of our team. We lost two one-run games to South Carolina, which had been to the last three World Series. Hopefully the experience from last year will help our team be confident going into this tournament. We were on the cusp last year. We had two one-run games and a win in the other game and we were right there. I think they want more. They haven't played with any pressure. Think of the pressure they could have played with. The last weekend of the season we go play against Iowa and I said that when it was on the line you swept. When it was on the line here you basically swept another series. That's pretty amazing. The mettle the kids showed, the intestinal fortitude was outstanding."
U-M Sophomore First Baseman Nate Recknagel
On if Michigan's offense is starting to mature ... "We know the potential that we have. We know that all nine of us can hit the ball, so it's no question."
On playing first base and not being taken out for defensive reasons late in games ... "It's going along pretty good. I'm getting better and better every day. I think as the season has progressed Coach has become more comfortable at first base so he's leaving me out there."
U-M Junior Outfielder Eric Rose
On scoring the first three runs when there were two outs ... "You need to capitalize on that situation with two outs. It's important to put the ball in play and hopefully it will find a hole somewhere. I think that was big for the team ... a couple two-out hits and a couple big RBI. That really pushed us over the edge."
On the defensive efforts ... "There were a couple of errors, but in general we fielded the ball and threw it pretty well. We took care of business."
On getting out of a few bases-loaded jams ... "That's kudos to our pitchers. When we needed them to step up in tight situations like that they did. That's a boost for our team and it led to a couple runs the next inning. It's always important to minimize opportunities for the other team."
