Texas Tech University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
March 02, 2010 | Baseball
March 2, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
Head Coach Dan Spencer
On his team's performance tonight in the win over Dallas Baptist:
"It was a real good win. It was important we came out and played well today. We started a freshman (Brandon Petite). A young guy and he wasn't great but he kept us around. He didn't blow it on us. I thought (Brennan) Stewart, (Ben) Flora and (Jay) Johnson were really good. The bullpen was great. There was some frustration because we hit some balls hard in the third, fourth and fifth innings and didn't score. I was just proud of our guys for staying with it and letting the game play out."
On closer Jay Johnson's pitching performance:
"He was pretty solid against Michigan early this season but I think Jay, the more he pitches, the more comfortable he is. He had a couple days off and he'll get a couple more off again before we go again Friday. I think he's just getting acclimated. He's a tough kid with a good arm. These are his first two weeks of Division I baseball and it's different. The people he's facing here are a little different than the folks he was facing up there."
On reliever Ben Flora's pitching performance:
"What he did by coming in and throwing strikes and getting the guy out last weekend, a left-handed hitter, he earned this chance. Then today, he went out there and did it again. He's done a great job. That's been great. Those were key outs and key innings that he threw. I'm happy for Ben. He had a tough freshman year but he stayed with it and he may end up getting the win in there today, I hope he did. It is great for him and the Red Raiders."
On the offensive outing today:
"We scored some runs late. I told our guys, the key to the game is you can look at the scoreboard and see all the zeros they had from the sixth to the ninth inning. That's how you win. The zero under our `E' column always helps too. Offensively, I feel like we are capable enough to stay in a game and score some runs. We went 7-2 in our first nine and we would like to have been a little better than that, but overall I think we played pretty well."
On getting on the road this weekend in Houston for the Houston College Classic:
"I think it's good we get out on the road and on the dirt. We are going to practice some on the dirt tomorrow at (Lubbock) Coronado High School and then we'll come over here and finish practice. Then we'll go down to Houston and play well."
Catcher Jeremy Mayo
On late offensive start today:
"Yeah no kidding. We started off the beginning of the game hitting the ball hard but just right at people. It just wasn't falling. When it finally started falling, you start putting runs up."
On the comeback rally to tie the game:
"We just had to stay with it. Stay with our two-strike approach, two-strike hitting. Jump on a fastball and hit the pitch you got. That's all."
On the pitching performances today:
"We pitched well, especially out of the bullpen. (Ben) Flora came in and pitched well, gave us some outs. Jay (Johnson) came in at the end and was unbelievable. (Brandon) Petite started the game off on the right foot and gave us some outs and kept us in the game."
Closer Jay Johnson
On today's win over Dallas Baptist:
"It was a good day for us and a win. We had a couple good innings out of Ben Flora, middle relief. He kept us in it and kept us around. I just went up there and tried to do my thing."
On his pitching today:
"I just had good command tonight. That's one thing. Once you get good command, you can let the ball go a little bit and let it fly. You can get a couple swings and misses. It worked out."
On how he and the team feel heading to Houston this weekend:
"Confidence is good. I feel like I'm always confident and ready to pitch every game. Going down to Houston, we're going to see some good hitters and a good bunch of teams. We're just going to go down there and hopefully do the same thing."
Designated Hitter Scott LeJeune
On his RBI-single in the sixth to take the lead:
"Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. We had been lining out all day and I happened to get one through the middle. That's just how baseball goes. We'll take it every time."
On today's performance by the pitching staff:
"That's huge. From the sixth inning on, being able to put up zeros. That's what we need to win. That's what held us back last year. We are showing improvement."
On how he feels heading into the Houston College Classic this weekend:
"This is a game we needed to have after losing the last one. We don't want to roll into Houston on a two-game losing streak. We don't want that. We're gong to play some stiff opponents so we're going to try and take two-out-of-three and see what happens."
Pitcher Brandon Petite
On his first start career start today against Dallas Baptist:
"It was nothing to be proud of but there is a lot to come out of it that I can work on. I have to keep the ball down and keep balls from flying out of the park."
On the difference between the first inning and the second or third innings:
"I think I just left the ball up. The ball was up and it met their bat and went out."
On what positives came out of his performance today:
"I made good pitches that they popped up. That's all I have to do is make good pitches and let the defense play. Get outs."
