May 24, 2008
FLORIDA STATE HEAD COACH MIKE MARTIN
Overall thoughts on the game...
"You might say for a game that didn't mean anything towards the outcome of the tournament, it certainly was a game played with a lot of emotion by both clubs. I'm very proud of the way our young men played. It was a great win and I'm very proud of each and every Seminole."
On Buster Posey pinch hitting and not starting...
"I was not going to use him but, he kind of indicated `I'm ok' and it's just a credit to his competitiveness and desire to help his team in any way he can. We wanted to rest him but at the same time there was a play last night in which he came out real quickly and he could have played easily but, I think when he came out of there with the bunt last night there was just a little feeling in the upper leg that he's not experienced (before). But after he pinch hit, I asked him how he felt and he said he never felt it. I didn't want to play him because our season begins next weekend. All that these young men have put in starts Friday night. All the hard work they put in, I want to make sure Buster Posey is 100% and that's why I decided he would not play."
FLORIDA STATE'S DENNIS GUINN (SR, 1B)
On what this win says about their team...
"It shows that our team regardless of the status of our game or what it means, no one gives up. I would say that we were a little sluggish at the beginning of the game, but it shows that nine innings we're going to fight regardless of who we're playing, and a team like Carolina, you have to fight to beat someone like that. It shows the character of our team and how we play the game."
FLORIDA STATE'S BUSTER POSEY (JR, C)
On the moment of stepping out of the dugout to pitch hit and receiving a standing ovation...
"It was different, I'd have to say it was one of the most fun at bats that I've ever had. It's a neat feeling, but at the same time you have to control how you're feeling on the inside because you're still going up there looking for a good pitch to hit. You can't get out of what you've been doing all year."
NORTH CAROLINA HEAD COACH MIKE FOX
On the game...
"It's certainly a disappointing loss for us. To have a lead in the ninth inning and not get it done, give up a six-spot, it's uncharacteristic of our team, but we've done it twice here. So, our bullpen just didn't get it done, and you've got to give Florida State a great deal of credit there. Those last three outs in any game, especially in this tournament and in the ACC, are the hardest ones to get and any coaches will tell you that. We had difficulty in two out of three games down here getting those last three outs, and it came back to get us."
On the tournament format and playing games not impacting the championship...
"We voted for pool play so it is what it is. I think all of us knew going in this could happen. It's happened to several teams now, and I don't know. I think that hopefully the players and coaches enjoy playing. Everybody wants to win the championship, but what are we going to do? After we played one game, we lost and we shouldn't have lost. It's our own fault. For us to say we're playing two meaningless games is a little shallow on our part or anybody's part.
"I thought it was a great game, an entertaining game between two really good teams. If you focus on what is not at stake, you lose the point of why you should be out there competing."
On Rob Wooten's recent efforts...
"I feel for Rob because he's been the guy for us the last couple of years. He strikes out the leadoff guy, but, he's been living on the edge. He threw three balls to him and then he throws three balls to the number nine guy and just barely misses and made a little bit of arm angle change and got that good extension out front. He'll be fine, we have a lot of confidence in him. That walk hurt us and then we opened the door for them with that."
On impact of the crowd...
"I think we like having the crowd there. I did. I like having people in the stands even if they're pulling for Florida State. You can say they're pulling against us, but, I think people need to be in the stands for the ACC Tournament. The last two nights we've played until 12:30 and you can count the number of people up there, so, it's nice having people up there cheering."
On their starting pitching...
"I think probably down the stretch that if people had a knock on us that it was do we have good enough starting pitching to win in a regional, or are we just going to count on our bullpen? I think we almost did the opposite here. We're going to try to pull those positives out. I thought Adam Warren was sensational tonight, and everybody saw what Matt did, and Alex. We have three really good starts and that's what you have to have."
NORTH CAROLINA'S TIM FEDEROWICZ (Jr. - C/RHP)
On returning after the weather delay...
"The biggest thing is just being able to keep my adrenaline up and try to just carry over the adrenaline I had when I went in the first time. Obviously, it's tough after 30 minutes of sitting there, but, I just had to make sure I went in there and threw strikes and I did and they were hitting them around pretty good."
NORTH CAROLINA'S DUSTIN ACKLEY (So. - 1B)
On what the team takes from this week's games...
"We come down here and we play a bunch of good teams. I think that's a good thing going into the post season, the super regionals and the regionals. I think it's good to play good teams like this and know what you're going to face, and it's not going to be a surprise in the regional."
