May 24, 2009
VANDERBILT QUOTES
Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin
Opening Statement…
“You just have to give credit to LSU and [pitcher] Ryan Byrd. He did what he had to do to keep us off balance. We really could not get anything going offensively, and I think that was the story of the game. Obviously, I did not think that six or seven runs would be insurmountable, but he did enough to keep us off balance. [Relief pitcher] Buzzy Haydel did a nice job, too. Hand it to LSU, sometimes when things are not going well, the other side has a lot to do with it, and that was the case today.”
On LSU’s run in the SEC Tournament…
“It mirrors what we did in 2007. We had that same path. It is just tough, but if you have tough kids, and you have kids that will take the ball, then you can get through it. In my opinion, and I have said this since I have been here, we did not play [LSU] in the regular season, but that is an Omaha team in that dugout, no question. They have top pitching, they have hitting one through nine and they have two guys that could start for any team in this league. I just think that they know how to win. Of course, they are going to be playing a regional, and will probably win that. Regardless of the situation, the fact that they had played five games and we had played three, it did not matter.”
Curt Casali, Vanderbilt First Baseman
On LSU’s starting pitcher Ryan Byrd…
“He pitched a really good game today. He kept the ball low, and he put the ball where he wanted it at the times that he needed to. We did not strike out that much, but we just did not get the timely hits that we needed to. Credit to him, he kept us off balance and got the job done.”
Steven Liddle, Vanderbilt Right Fielder
On LSU’s starting pitcher Ryan Byrd…
“He did a good job commanding his pitches. Those three to four pitches that he did throw, he was throwing for strikes. He was doing a really good job by keeping us off balance and making us put the ball in play by popping us up or getting a ground out. He did a good job making us put to ball in play so that he could limit his pitch count and get him further in the game.”
LSU QUOTES
LSU Head Coach Paul Mainieri
On winning the SEC Tournament Championship…
“Obviously, being the champions for the tournament for the second consecutive year is something we are proud of. A lot of people wondered what kind of effort or intensity our players might have in this tournament because we had already won the regular-season championship. I always knew what kind of effort these kids would give. They only know how to play the game one way and that’s at full speed. When we lost that first game, we tipped our hat to the pitcher from Vanderbilt. He was outstanding, but I knew our kids would not give up. I told them to take it one game at a time and that was our approach. I told the kids if you think in terms of having to win five in a row, that’s just overwhelming. Let’s just go out there and play one solid game and get the next one after that. Fortunately we were able to have a great tournament.”
On the team’s performance throughout the tournament…
“For me, this championship was won because of our pitching as a group. The job our pitching coach has done with these kids is absolutely amazing. To see the way all these kids know how to utilize thier ability and how well they have done. We took advantage of playing in a much larger ballpark, but I don’t think we even walked a batter today. With Bradshaw, Cain, and everyone else, we forced the other teams to swing the bats and we had great outfield defense and infield defense. I think that was the key for us.”
Ryan Byrd, LSU Starting Pitcher
On getting the start in the clinching game…
“I would say this ranks up there pretty high. I want to thank coach for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to pitch today. He came to me on the bus and asked me if I wanted the ball and it definitely gave me a boost of confidence. When your head coach has that kind of confidence in you and 25 guys behind you that believe in you, its a pretty good feeling.”
