Postgame Quotes: #18 Michigan 3, Purdue 2
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Michigan Head Coach Rich Maloney
On winning the Big Ten's regular-season and tournament titles ... "The kids went 29-5 (against Big Ten opponents). They set the all-time record (for regular-season Big Ten wins). Then to come in the tournament and win three straight, it's about as dominating of a performance as you can have. It'll be something for these guys to remember. They have set their goals higher than this, but this is two of the goals they had in mind. You have to give them a lot of credit. Everybody was gunning for them, and they still found a way to have a marvelous regular season."
On if Michigan deserves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament ... "What more can you do? If we don't get a No. 1 seed then I don't know if a Northern team will ever get a No. 1 seed. That's how you have to look at it. That's for someone else to decide. Wherever they put us, we'll be happy to compete. We look forward to the challenge. It's going to be tough. We're 41-7 over our last 48 games, and you're going to have a tough time finding a team who has done as well as us during that same stretch."
U-M Freshman Pitcher Tyler Burgoon
On the game ... "Obviously it was a big game, and I'm happy Coach (Rich Maloney) had the confidence to put me in there in that situation. I feel like the team played very well."
On the groundball out with runners on second and third in the third inning ... "It's definitely nice to get the first out in an (appearance). It helps to swing the momentum. It was my job to get the inning to our hitters with the game still close."
On having so much success during his freshman season ... "Going in as a freshman, I knew that we had a good team. We always have a strong program. It's great that everyone is doing well and doing what is needed for us to win."
On what it was like playing in this atmosphere ... "We've got great fans out there. The chants and the noise definitely help to get you pumped up during games."
U-M Junior Pitcher Michael Powers
On what was working for him in each game of the tournament ... "I had the slider working on all three games each night. I had good location on everything, but the slider is definitely the pitch we were looking to go to."
On potentially hosting an NCAA regional next weekend ... "You never know, but we did what we could. We came out and played hard every day. That's all we can do. Hopefully everything takes care of itself."
On the perseverance of the team ... "When you're pitching well, hitting decent, and getting some good breaks every here and there with good defense, we're going to be in every game. The credit really goes to all of the other guys on our team because if we're not winning and coming back in those games then I don't even get to throw."
On being named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player ... "It's a great feeling and a great honor. If we're not winning at the end of the games, though, then my performances doesn't get as much hype. Again, all of the credit goes to the guys who helped put us in that situation."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Second Baseman Leif Mahler
On winning the Big Ten Tournament in his final year at Michigan ... "This is awesome. We did it the way we're supposed to do it by winning three in a row. (Michael) Powers was phenomenal. All of these guys got the big hits today down the stretch when we needed them the most. It was a great crowd and an unbelievable way to finish this tournament."
Purdue Head Coach Doug Schreiber
On the difference in tonight's one-run loss ... "Just the fact that we didn't extend that (2-0) lead and we had opportunities to. We didn't get a couple bunts down, we had second and third and we probably could have gambled a bit more in that situation, but (U-M shortstop Jason) Christian makes a big play -- a couple big plays because we hit a line drive with a man on second and he snags it. Michigan's pitching is very good. With (reliever Tyler) Burgoon and (closer Michael) Powers they shortened that game. I'm just proud of our guys. I thought we pitched well, we bobbed and weaved through those first four innings or so. Our guys competed and played hard and didn't give in, and it was just a matter of not being able to extend the lead. You have to give Michigan credit. They were down 2-0 and their pitchers just kept putting up zeros (on the scoreboard). It gives their offense a chance to come back and get (runs). It's not like they had any big rallies, but they had big hits and obviously we threw that wild pitch -- you hate to lose on a play like that."
On Purdue's season ... "Starting 0-9, 2-11, these guys made a concerted effort. We still believed. We knew we played good teams, and had played okay but not great. We didn't play bottom-of-the barrel, which is what 0-9, 2-11 sounds like. We just needed to compete a little bit better and then the guys did. They competed, brought some looseness, as well as some confidence. They built a lot of trust amongst themselves and the coaches. We battled through that Big Ten season and kind of gave Michigan a run for its money, and Michigan goes on to set a conference record in Big Ten wins. We hung in there. We had a bad weekend at Indiana and that started to separate us a little bit (from Michigan). We had tremendous efforts; we set the school record for doubles. I think Josh Lindblom set the saves record. I can't speak enough about Ryne White and Dan Black in the middle of our order. Now we just have to wait and see how the (MLB) draft affects us and we'll see where we're standing after that when the dust settles. We'll try to build off the way we finished and the experience that we had coming here."
