May 25, 2001

NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
Regionals
Frank Eck Stadium
Notre Dame, Ind.

Pre-Tournament Quotes

Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri

On his expectations for the weekend…
We’re hoping for some great ball games this weekend. I’m not really familiar with UC-Santa Barbara except to know that Cal State-Fullerton was here a couple years ago from the same conference and obviously had a great team. To beat them a couple weeks ago and finish second in that league is obviously a great accomplishment.

On his relationship with Florida International coach Danny Price…
I’m really excited about having Danny Price here. I’ve known Danny for 22 years. I have a degree from Florida International University. I coached against Danny when I was at Saint Thomas and at the Air Force Academy and now at Notre Dame. It’s really renewing an old friendship.

On the thrill of hosting a regional…
Obviously, we’re very excited about the opportunity to host a regional here at Notre Dame. It’s the second time in three years. It’s great that our administration would give the support to our baseball program financially so that we could put a bid into the NCAA to be able to host this regional. I think it makes a big statement from our administration about their seriousness in supporting a baseball program in the northern part of the United States.

On the state of baseball in the northern part of the country…
I have been on both sides of the ledger, so to speak. I grew up in southern Florida, and now I’ve been in the midwest for several years. I can tell you that, given the opportunity, the schools up here in the north play a good brand of baseball. Having a regional in this part of the country gives us a good stage to show that baseball can be played in the north. We’re glad to host the regional.

On the season…
This season has been an outstanding season for us, especially the regular season. We were able to ascend to the number one ranking, which is obviously something we’re very proud of. We didn’t do too well in the BIG EAST tournament last weekend, and we’re hoping that we can bounce back this weekend.

On what to expect from Florida International…
All I know is that when you talk to Danny, it sounds like he has a team that is about 10-40. And every year they win 40 ball games. We played down there about two years ago. I don’t remember the scores of the games that closely, because I don’t want to remember them, but he handled us pretty well in three straight games. I am sure he will have his typical team out there.

On pitcher Aaron Heilman’s mindset for the first game…
I’ve played Jerry (Augustine) several times since I’ve been here at Notre Dame. They lost four or five players off of last years line-up, and we didn’t play them this year. Aaron (Heilman) has faced a lot of good teams this year, all the best teams we have played. He has had a phenomenal year, obviously. I am sure Aaron’s game plan is going to be the same as it always is-go after hitters, throw strikes, and try to get some other pitches over besides his fastball.

On first-game opponent Wisconsin-Milwaukee…
I can tell you without question that we have the highest level of respect for Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s baseball team. Not just their hitting, but also their pitching, just their whole team. We have had some phenomenal games in the last six years since I have been here. Last year they beat us very handily here at our field. Jerry (Augustine) is being very humble when he says we always pitch him our mid-week pitchers. The bottom line is that they play very hard. If anyone takes Wisconsin-Milwaukee lightly in this tournament they are going to be in for a very rude awakening because Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a very good team.

On the opportunity to play new teams…
I think that’s one of the neat things about the NCAA tournament. You get to play against teams that you have not played frequently. We just worry about ourselves and just try to do the things that we do the best. It is just a baseball game. We are going to go out their and battle as hard as we can. What excites the players the most is that they are playing against teams that they read about in Baseball America or USA Today, but have not had an opportunity to play them very frequently. That is an exciting thing.

UC-Santa Barbara Coach Bob Brontsema

On his expectations coming to Notre Dame…
We come from the BIG WEST. Cal State-Fullerton was here a few years ago. I talked to George Horton about the place. He said it was a beautiful, wonderful place, and he was absolutely correct. We are extremely excited to be here. The history that this university brings is adding so much to this experience for our fellas.

On his team’s progress…
It was a good year for us. I have a senior-laden squad. Some of the guys have been with me for five years, and a handful of guys have been with me for four years. I couldn’t be more happy for my group of guys. Four years ago, we won 18 ball games. Now, here we are as the number-two seed at this great university. It is a great accomplishment for the young men I have in my program.

Florida International Coach Danny Price

On the other coaches in the regional…
I do realize that I am sitting up here with a great group of winners. It takes a lot to get to the regional. We are very fortunate to be here.

On traveling outside of Florida for a regional…
I realize it is a very good field here, and we are excited about it. In 1995 we went to the regionals in Miami and again in ’97, ’98, ’99. When we heard the field announced Monday, we were really excited to know that our kids were going to get a chance to do something different than stay in Florida. We get the experience of going to a hotel, and making a flight, and doing all the things special that kids remember. Kids remember the last couple weeks of a season. They are not going to remember the beginning part. This stretch is building character.

On bittersweet feelings towards the regional field…
We are very fortunate to be at Notre Dame. I have never had the opportunity to be here. I feel like, “Oh wow, we are going somewhere different.” Then you get the stats thrown at you. What do we know about Santa Barbara? Offensively, three guys over .380. Ok, we can deal with that. They have five guys over .350. Ok, that’s pretty good. Then, seven guys over .310. Wow. We are going to throw the best we have. That’s it.

On planning ahead…
I don’t want to plan too deeply because last week I planned very deeply and got beat on a homerun in the last inning. We are just going to work on the first game.

On the geographical diversity of his regional opponents…
One thing, you cannot change is the rules of the game. The rules are the same and the ball still comes in a square box. This is baseball and it’s college baseball. The kids are just excited about playing it, and they are going to play it like kids. I don’t think it matters where you are from. At this stage, kids love the game. And I promise you, as much time as these coaches put in-it is a lot of time and a lot of hard work and a lot of tears-so we are just going to play the game. We are going to have fun.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee Coach Jerry Augustine

On the character of his team…
We feel very honored to be here. When we look at the teams here, we feel like the blue-collar team. We are the team that just comes and puts on their uniforms, goes on the field and just plays as hard as we can. Hopefully, at the end, things turn out pretty good, and this year they certainly did.

On his senior leadership…
One thing that has helped us this year has been our group of seniors. Last year, we graduated a great group of seniors so this year we thought we would be down a little bit. This year’s seniors have really stepped forward and done a great job for us.

On his players’ confidence…
Our players are very confident. I think that confidence comes from just loving the game. At UW-Milwaukee we play to have fun and because we love the game. That is why we are here.

On his first-game opponent Notre Dame…
We feel very honored to come to Notre Dame. Paul (Mainieri) does a great job with his team. Every time we play them, our kids get excited a week before, and it his hard to get them settled down to play. As soon as we got the bid, we got excited, and we feel very honored.

On facing Notre Dame Pitcher Aaron Heilman…
When you face a pitcher that great you can’t think because if you start thinking, you are already beat. You know some guys are just great, and you have to just go up and play. When you are playing a team like Notre Dame, they usually pitch their fourth or fifth or sixth pitcher, and now they are going to pitch their number one. Our guys will have to be at their best. We will have to swing the bat, and Quintin (Oldenburg) is just gong to have to have one of those great games. That is they way we feel. Are we capable of it? We are capable of it every time we take the field. We just have to not think of him as being great and just see the ball and try to hit it. You see, I said it right there, we have to try to hit it.

On the unpredictable nature of baseball…
We have played Paul now for the last several years and we know he has a good ball club. We know he will have his team up. We have to go out and play our best game every game. We don’t look at a team or what their record was in the past. Baseball is a funny game. You could be down, and one swing of the bat can put you right back where you are supposed to be. Pitching is the same thing. That is what is great about baseball and what is even more great about college baseball. You just don’t know. Everyone puts on a uniform. We are facing one of the best pitchers in the country, a great team, and we are laying at Notre Dame. What more could you ask than that?