May 29, 2005

Georgia Tech Head Coach Danny Hall on how his team played in the ACC Tournament:
This team has a lot of character; it's kind of been our trademark all year. We played hard for nine innings and we needed to play hard for nine innings in this tournament. There were eight great teams that ended up in it and if you don't play hard for nine, someone is going to slip up and beat you. We were fortunate that we did have a lot of character and got some hits when we needed them and made some pitches when we needed them.

On today's game:
Virginia has done a great job the last two years of executing some pitches against our team. I give them credit. We were one hit away several times from maybe breaking this game open, but to their credit, they kept the game at one-run, tied and even in their advantage. I tip my cap to them, they did a great job.

On where this championship ranks in comparison to the other ones:
They are all special. Anytime a team wins a league championship, it's a special thing. This is no higher than any of the others, but I am very proud of my team at the same time.

On carrying momentum into the NCAA Tournament:
We need to go home and rest up a little bit. I know we are going to have the chance to play at home and we are excited about that. But next week starts a new tournament and we will have to be ready to go. We are excited about getting another opportunity to play.

On this win being more of a team win then individuals standing out:
I think that is the way our team has been all year. Tyler Greene had a lot of focus on him going into the season, but a lot of our guys have been sneaking up on people all year. I think we have an excellent team. They really care a lot about each other, they trust each other and if somebody is having a bad day, someone else will be right there to pick them up. That is the making of a good team and that is why we won the regular season and won the tournament. Our team is together.

Second Baseman Mike Trapani on his defensive plays today:
The big play was the one up the middle where I had to lay out and stop a run from scoring. That was obviously the big one, but it was the big one for me because I didn't do anything offensively to help my team. I was just happy I could do something to contribute.

On holding Virginia to three runs today:
You have to tip your cap to Tim Gustafson, Jordan Crews and Matt Wieters. They all pitched amazing. They came out, threw strikes, kept the ball down and we didn't make any errors until the last inning. It got a little scary, but we played well. But the pitchers did a great job.

On the momentum going into NCAA Regionals next week:
It's good for us, but we start from scratch next week and we know that. We are 0-0 now and we are ready to go to start a new winning streak.

On how the game played out today:
I never thought it would have been this low scoring. It's the championship game and every one is into their bullpens, but both pitching staffs did amazing job. Our pitchers were phenomenal today.

Opening Statement from Virginia Head Coach Brian O'Connor:
I would imagine that we had over ten walks today and that is not our team. We led the ACC in fewest walks allowed, but that is the breaks. Although we walked people, we still had an opportunity to win. We still only gave up four runs. Obviously it's uncharacteristic of Sean Doolittle to walk people, but we used him a lot this tournament. I toyed with whether or not I was going to use him today, but when we scored that third run I thought we needed the momentum on our side and that we needed to make a change and unfortunately it didn't work. But, our kids played their hearts out today and showed what we are capable of playing like and what kind of program that we have and I know we will look forward to competing next weekend.

On this being a good learning experience:
It was good experience. It is good that they went through it; we have a lot of young kids on this team and it's good that they went through that experience. We had three freshmen on the mound today and that is just amazing and a sophomore and they battled and you put them in this kind of environment as much as possible and it bodes well for the future.

On not hosting, but the possibility of moving on and playing in the NCAA Tournament:
I believe that we will be selected as an at-large team tomorrow. Two years in a row in this program to go to the NCAA Regional is something that has never been done in this program. There is a lot to be proud of, I know our kids will be ready to compete. I told them in the post game meeting that the teams they will face in the NCAA Regional will not be any better than the teams that they faced in this tournament. And you know what? We went 3-1 in this tournament. If we win our first three games in the NCAA Regional, we are in the Super Regionals. I like our chances next weekend. Our team is playing very, very hot right now. We look forward to getting back out there and playing winning baseball.

Catcher Scott Headd on playing in his first ACC Championship:
It was great. It took a long time to get here, for all the fourth and fifth year guys but you are never satisfied unless you win that championship.

On possibility of playing in the NCAA Tournament:
We really showed what we can do as a team in this tournament. Fortunately a lot of the young guys peaked at the right time in the season. That's what college baseball is all about, so if we can carry that over into regionals next weekend we should have a lot of success.