UCLA 8, Cal State Fullerton 1 - Postgame Quotes
June 13, 2010
UCLA Head Coach John Savage
(Opening statement): "First I'd like to congratulate Cal State Fullerton for once again reaching the Super Regional and having a tremendous team. Coach (Dave) Serrano and his staff have been to Omaha with two different programs. They are certainly as good as there is out there. This was certainly the toughest Super Regional in the country. We feel very fortunate to come out on top. In terms of the game, I just can't say enough about how Rob (Rasmussen) pitched. They got to him a little bit in the first inning. Christian (Colon) had a two-strike base-hit and they got the run. Rob made that a quiet inning, we call it. Only one run scored, it could have been more. He had complete control the rest of the evening. It was just a complete team effort. We played tremendous defense this weekend and we had to. Our bats just got better as the game went on. Our guys didn't get ahead of themselves. Dylan Floro was good early, and we settled in and did enough, and we pecked away. I just can't say enough how proud I am about our team and how excited we are. We've been in four postseasons the last five years, and we needed to do this as a program. Cal State Fullerton was a tremendous challenge, and thankfully we got by them. And now it's on to Omaha for the challenge next week."
(on Rob Rasmussen): "He's been great all year. This guy's 11-2; he went in the second round (of the draft). He hadn't thrown a complete game all year, but he wanted the ball, his pitch count was down, he averaged 12 pitches per inning going into the ninth inning, and he was just in complete control. He was good, and he proved to be as good as anyone we've got."
(on if UCLA's pitching staff is the best in the country): "I've said since day one, we feel we have as good a pitching staff as there is in the country. To say that we're bringing THE best pitching staff, I'd have to see everybody. The focus is on ourselves. Our starters have carried us. As Rob says, our bullpen is as good as our starters. We feel we have as much depth as anybody in the country, and we feel very good about our pitching."
UCLA Pitcher Rob Rasmussen
(on how he's progressed since he's been at UCLA): "I came from a very small school academically, and I broke my foot in my first game, I took a line drive off my foot against UCSB. It's been a growing process. I can't put into words how much Coach Savage has meant in helping me get there. This year, I really turned a corner from my first two years. Coach Savage had a lot of confidence in me, and that corner that I turned has kind of led into this season for me personally. Obviously it helps when you start getting leads, 8-1 and 6-1 earlier in the game. We have such a good bullpen too, so it's easier to have confidence when you have guys who are there to help you too."
(on sharpening his command and adding pitches to his arsenal): "I didn't have a changeup coming out of high school, and that's a pitch Coach Savage really stressed. It's a big pitch for me right now, and I don't necessarily throw it all the time, but it's something that keeps guys honest. I had decent command in high school, but Coach Savage just talked to me about if you really want to be good you really have to have better command and to find your fastball. He deserves a lot of the credit too."
UCLA Outfielder Beau Amaral
(on his home run): "After last night, it was a tough game for both sides. We just felt that whoever went out there and threw the first punches would end up on top. That is a big thing in baseball, and to be able to score runs late in games made it a lot easier for us to finish strong."
(on the role Coach Vanderhook has played in the offense): "He's got us all locked in. Before every game we talk about the pitcher and the game plans we're going to have before we go out there. He spends countless hours with us and he never lets anything go. He'll say whatever he wants to say, and if he's feeling something, he's not going to hold back. He's a huge part of this organization, and he keeps us on track to where we want to go."
UCLA Shortstop Niko Gallego
(on the team's defense): "We saw every pitch, and we played solid defense, and we've done that all year long. We've got some pretty good defenders, and the pitchers throw strikes, which makes it easier."
(on his stolen bases and what it did to Fullerton's mentality): "I have no idea what it to them, but I felt like I needed to get to third with the one out. I knew I could hope to get a good jump off first base, and I sat on the no-look over at second base, and I got it. Getting to third base was what I was trying to do, and I got lucky, and that's what happened."
CSUF Head Coach Dave Serrano
(opening statement): "First off I'd like to congratulate UCLA Baseball, Coach Savage and his coaching staff on a job well done. They are a fabulous baseball team, and my hope is that they go out and represent the West Coast in a wonderful way, and my hope is that they come out and win the national championship. Everything to me indicates that they have a chance to. As far as our team, obviously devastation. As I told the team, there was a script written for this team, and unfortunately it was not what we hoped it was going to be. Sometimes things are out of your control. I've been with some teams that have been to Omaha, and this 2010 team will be very close to my heart for a long time because of the stuff that we've had to deal with the whole year. By no means is it an excuse, but it is what it is. I think if you ask UCLA, they won this Super Regional, but they had their hands full. I also told the team we could sit there and say should've, could've, would've, but we're not going to do that. We lost, the matchups squared up for UCLA, and they were the better team this weekend."
(On UCLA pitcher Rob Rasmussen's performance): "Rasmussen was really good. In the seventh inning, he got better, actually. There was a small window of opportunity in the first four innings, but we were not able to take advantage. Like good starting pitchers do, they get into a rhythm. And he got into a good rhythm and got much tougher as the game went on."
(On Tyler Rahmatulla's bat this series) "There's a reason why he's the 3-hole hitter for their team. That's a young baseball team. I said to Coach Vanderhook, 'your kids are growing up tremendously' and he agreed. Rahmatulla is one of the older guys on a young team, and he played like a 3-hole hitter would and like a guy who's had a lot of experience and at-bats. He was a tough out this weekend."
(on the missed catch by Joey Siddons) "From what I saw from 300-400 feet away, it was a fastball to Rahmatulla. It looked like he got on top of the ball, it had some topspin on it, which made it tougher to catch, and it had some sinking action, and he just missed the ball. Those two runs weren't going to beat us in my mind. It ended up beating us, but I won't look back and say that was the big key to the game."
Cal State Fullerton Pitcher Dylan Floro
(on pitching against Rasmussen) "It's frustrating, but it's one of the things you have to work through being a pitcher. You go out there, and you're throwing pitches low, but they were finding holes, and he was getting outs, and there's not much you can do."
(on how this season gave him confidence going forward): "Yes, it does do a lot for my confidence. This year's over with, and I've got to move on and start working on my pitches, keeping them low, and putting in more time and more work."
Cal State Fullerton shortstop Christian Colon
(on facing Rasmussen) "His stuff was good. As an offense, I thought he did well. He mixed his pitches well. He had a chip on his shoulder, and he wanted to do something and make sure our offense was quiet, and he was able to get that."
(on his college career ending) "I had a blast. I think I had the best coaching staff in whole country. They made us better people, and this man right here (Coach Serrano) did so much for me, and I'll never forget that. My experience in college is something I will never forget, ever. Obviously going pro is exciting, but I'm not thinking about that. I'm just proud to play for Coach Serrano and this coaching staff. Even though things didn't go our way, I'm very proud to be a Titan under Coach Serrano."