May 10, 2008

Recap |  Final Stats

TULANE HEAD COACH Rick Jones

Overall thoughts on the doubleheader sweep
"I don't know who didn't contribute. We had so many great at-bats, we had so many guys stepped up on the mound when we needed to and we made so many great plays defensively. It was just a great weekend all around for us and one we desperately needed. The club is starting to mature and come together. All of these new guys are starting to mesh. I know it's a little later in the year, but we're in a pretty enviable situation compared to where we were two weeks ago."

On the performance of Josh Prince
"Josh Prince had a break-out weekend for us. Defensively, he's been great all year, and this weekend, he was stellar defensively. But offensively, he did so many things to help us and show the kind of player he is. You can't discount the fact that he came off elbow surgery and it really hurt his swing. Now that he's healthy and getting his repetitions, you're starting to see the great player that he is."

On the Green Wave's bullpen on Saturday
"Preston Claiborne really was the pitcher in the first game. I thought that he did a great job for us. Mason Griffin was outstanding again. And Nick Pepitone came in and pitched like a seasoned veteran - not only with his stuff but with his poise."

On how big this weekend is for Tulane
"We've got a lot of baseball left to play - three conference games and then the tournament - so you don't want to get too up or too down right now. This just helped us a lot this weekend."

SOPHOMORE SHORTSTOP Josh Prince

On the reason for his offensive performance over the last four game
"It was a lot of work in the cages with Coach King (associate head coach Mark Kingston and Coach (Billy) Mohl, and I'm finally feeling confident about my swing again."

On if his elbow injury in the fall had an effect on his swing
"I think it did at the beginning of the season. In the fall, I created a lot of bad habits because of the pain when I would swing. I finally got out of those bad habits and I'm finally feeling my swing again."

On how big this weekend's sweep is to the team
"It's huge because now we're going back home to play Rice and have a chance to win conference. To sweep these guys on the road is huge plus. It's unbelievable."

FRESHMAN PITCHER Nick Pepitone

On his performance on the mound in game two of Saturday's double header
"Trey (Martin) did a good job of keeping us in the game and Robby Broach did a good job as well. I came in with runners at first and second, and unfortunately, their guy got a little jam shot. He put a good swing on a good pitch. After that, I really got into my zone, especially after Drew Allain hit the home run. He just gave me the boost that I needed to get through the rest of the night."

JUNIOR RIGHT FIELDER Drew Allain

On his two-run home run in the eighth
"It was a 1-2 change-up he threw me. It was low and in, I just dropped the barrel on it, and I guess I hit it well."

On what his approach was going into that at-bat
"I knew Josh Prince was on first, and he's one of the faster guys on the team. So I figured if I could get a ball in the gap, I knew he would score and give us a chance to go ahead."

On how big this weekend's sweep is to Tulane
"We've been talking all year about getting to the magic No. 40. It's our first sweep in conference against a really, really competitive ballclub. East Carolina played well all weekend. We just got a few more hits than they did and it worked out for us this time. It's big because it puts us closer to the No. 40 and that's the way we're going to look at it right now."