May 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Head Coach Tony Gwynn
On the factors weighing in the decision of who will be the staring pitcher on Friday:
"The factors are we're doing what's best for San Diego State. We're going up there to win. We're not going up there just to make an appearance for the first time in 18 years. We're going up there to try to win and whatever situation puts San Diego State in the best position to win, that's what we're going to do. And honestly we haven't decided yet. You try to get your scouting reports, you try to look at rosters, you try to look at match-ups, look at what kind of success they've had, who they've played; all those things go into it. Obviously Stephen (Strasburg) is our horse, but I think we can win with Tyler Lavigne. We'll see. My mind isn't made up on it. Rusty Filter came to my office this morning and we talked about it for about 20 minutes. I know Stephen wants the ball, but Tyler Lavigne wants the ball too. It's about trying to set it up so it puts us in the best position to win."
On the season that Tyler Lavigne has had:
"He's thrown the ball great. Our pitchers have done a super job. Stephen gets a lot of the attention, but on any other year Tyler and Addison Reed would be the story. He pitched on Tuesday against UNLV and he was coming on eight or nine days rest and he was super strong; he had a lot of trouble getting the ball down in the zone. He came back on two days rest on Friday and really threw the ball great; threw 100 pitches, went seven innings. Unfortunately for him we didn't score any runs, but he threw the ball extremely well. Those two outings put us in a position where you have to think about it. Not in a sense that he's our go-to guy, but you get in a tournament situation where you're playing one on Friday, one on Saturday, possibly two on Sunday and maybe one on Monday so you have to try to maximize the guys you can use."
On his familiarity with Virginia:
"We've just looked at their video on the web site and we're making some calls, looking at their stats and looking at who they've played. They're a solid club; 43-12 and they play in the ACC, one of the toughest conferences in the country with good teams in it. They're RPI is No. 6, so they've got to be pretty good. They're one of 64."
On what this postseason appearance does for the future of SDSU baseball:
"It's huge. Already our phones are blowing up. I've got 50 text messages on my phone. I went to my office upstairs for the first time in a couple of days and I've got a nice stash of DVDs and things that recruits send you that tell you about them. Obviously being on TV is going to help. Aztec alums are coming out of the woodwork. Aztec fans are proud because we haven't been in this situation in a long time. It's going to mean a lot. Right now you really can't worry about it too much because it's about winning games. I don't think there's any doubt we've made a mark this year that people are now aware of the program and what we're trying to do and how much we've accomplished this year. It's been great."
On the impact of the players like Ryan O'Sullivan and Brandon Meredith who were drafted last year but decided to play for SDSU:
"It's been huge. Both of those guys are everyday players really. In my own heart I felt like last summer that they were going to sign; I didn't think they were going to come to school. And the fact that they did come to school, I think they helped put us in the position where we are today, going to a regional. Both of those guys have an impact in our everyday lineup on our ballclub."
On the challenge they're been presented with the Irvine Regional:
"Like anything else in baseball, if you look at it from that standpoint, I think in your mind you think this is going to be a tough task, but we just kind of look at it like its baseball. It's baseball. These guys have played baseball a long time. I've played baseball my entire life. It's about execution, it's about throwing strikes and keeping it in the simplest form. Don't look at the name on the uniform. Just look at it like for us to be successful we have to do the things that we do and not focus so much on what they do. Let's worry about what we do. This week in practice we've talked about the things we're going to have to do if we expect to be successful. Let's go play some baseball. That's what we're here. That's why we're excited. We get to continue playing baseball. There are some good teams in our bracket. Fresno State, I don't think anybody would have thought they would win it all last year as a four-seed. It can be done, and we're a three-seed. We're just going to focus on us. We're not going to focus on the other things that the other teams do; the other accolades that they've had. We're going to focus on what we do and we're going to try to make it work."
Junior Pitcher Stephen Strasburg
On where his emotions are heading into the weekend:
"Just going out there and have fun. Obviously we have to play our best baseball. We've played 61 games so far this year and I think we still have yet to play our best game. We need to go out there and play loose and really learn from what happened at the conference tournament championship. I thought at some point as a team we were playing not to lose instead of playing to win. That's what we're going to go do this weekend."
On whether or not a couple of years ago he would have been more nervous:
"Not at all, it's just another game. It's going to take every single one of us to pull it off."
On if he has a preference on which game he will pitch:
"No, no preference. We're going to have to win at least two games. Whichever game I'm pitching, I'm going to give it everything I have. I'm confident with the other pitchers that we have and the hitters that we have that if we play our best baseball we should be able to get the job done."
On if there is any temptation to talk to the coaches and say he will do whatever it takes to win:
"Absolutely. The coaches have been really good as far as limiting pitch count and everything, but it's postseason right now. I'm sure they know that I'm willing to do anything and everything that it takes to get to the next level."
Junior Infielder Erik Castro
On his transition of transferring home from Arizona:
"It just didn't work out. I didn't think it was the best place for me to play baseball. I'm lucky that I had the opportunity to come to San Diego State. Last year I transferred here as a sophomore and it was great. This year it's just been great to help the team to the postseason."
On the feeling of the team has getting ready for regionals:
"It's been great. We're really concentrating on having some fun. We're going in there to win this regional, but we're also there to have fun. It's been great. The guys have a good attitude. There's no pressure at practice. We're loose, we're having fun. We're getting ready."