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June 4, 2004

Arizona Quotes

Arizona coach Andy Lopez
On the game...
"First of all, I want to congratulate UC-Irvine. They're a very good club."

On talking to Koley Kohlberg on the mound ...
"We talked about controlling his emotions a little bit and make sure he controlled his pitches. He's been very good for us all year. We wanted to get him back in the mindset."

Arizona outfielder Derek Decater
On his homerun which put Arizona up 3-2 ...
"I was excited. I was just looking for pitches to hit ... It was a fast ball, probably a ball. When I hit it, I was running because I didn't know if it was going out or not. Once I hit it, I started running hard, because I didn't know what was going to happen."

On what he was thinking mentally ...
"I was trying to stay level headed, whether I'm hitting good or bad. I'm trying to put the ball in play and help the team out by getting walks."

Arizona pitcher Kolen Kohlberg
On the double play ...
"I think that was the biggest pitch of the game, because it would have made us down however many runs. By making that play, making that pitch, you're able to come into the inning 2-2 still. From there on, it worked out. We scored runs the very next inning and never looked back."

UC Irvine Quotes

UC Irvine coach John Savage
On the game ...
" I have to give Arizona a lot of credit, they really battled Brett [Smith} tonight. They made him work for every out and and that's what a good offensive team does. They made it a frustrating night all around."

"In the situation where we had to come up with the big hits, you have to give Arizona credit they made some big pitches. It was frustrating, we definitely had our opportunities to make it a close game and just didn't come up with a big hit. We were one hit away from being in the game."

Jr. RHP Brett Smith
On his performance...
"I've been battling trying to get ready and I was just not prepared for that first inning. I let it take me by surprise and when that happens you have to battle your way through it. Arizona made it tough for me, I was not focusing on every pitch and I was looking too much at the big picture."

On facing Notre Dame...
"Their record speaks for itself. They have been playing well against good teams. We just have to come out tommorrow, be aggressive and play our game. I think we got away from that tonight and it hurt us."

Jr. OF Jordan Szabo
On the team's performance at the plate...
"It is frustrating when you get in an inning and they steal your momentum. Also, our hitters had a lot of good at bats and hit the ball hard throughout the entire line-up