May 27, 1999

LUBBOCK, Texas - Quotes from Thursday's press conference -

· Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. Rice - Friday, May 28 - 3 p.m. - Dan Law Field ·

Jerry Augustine, Head Coach Wisconsin-Milwaukee

On Rice
"They are a very good baseball team. They are a very good pitching team. They are going to be very well balanced. We are just happy to be here and have the opportunity to play them."

On teams UWM has played similar to Rice
"We've played Oklahoma State, Nebraska and a couple of Big Ten schools. That kind of prepares us and our conference play was tough this year. "

On feeling of team going into Friday's action
"Our guys are always lose. Coming from up north and not being able to get outside to play a lot of games, we stress just playing good fundamental baseball. We don't always accomplish that, but it is something that we stress. We tell our players if they go out and work hard good things will happen. That's the best we can ask - hopefully they will come out and play good baseball."

Wayne Graham, Head Coach Rice

On being the top seeded team
"I expected to be a number one seed when we didn't get beat in the conference team. I don't know if it is an advantage or not."

On his team
"Our strength this year has been pitching and defense. The hitting comes and goes."

On Texas Tech head coach Larry Hays
"Larry's done an incredible job here. Nobody perceived when he got this job that Texas Tech would become a powerhouse. He is one of the premier coaches in the conference."

On returning to Lubbock
"Our players are happy because we have won here before. It is always a new season when the playoffs come around."

· Rutgers vs. Texas Tech - Friday, May 28 - 7 p.m. - Dan Law Field ·

Fred Hill, Head Coach Rutgers

Team's approach to the game versus Texas Tech
"We're going to approach it like any other game, Texas Tech is an outstanding club. We're going to worry about our own club more than them. We have to play our game and do what can do and we'll get the play that we need to be successful."

On Dimensions of Dan Law Field versus other field they have played at this season
"We have played in a lot of ball parks that were much smaller than this. When we walked in the ball park this afternoon I said thank God because 380 feet is a long shot. I think the size of the ball park is a pitcher's park. I don't know if we are going to fly to many out of here. We hope we're not swinging for the fences - we are just going to try to put the ball in play."

On starting pitcher Jimmy Wilson
"He's pitched very well for us over the course of the year. This year he started out in the bullpen for us and gave us a couple of good outings then we gave him a start. He pitched an outstanding game at Florida Atlantic. He did a real nice job for us. We are just going to go along with our normal rotation."

Larry Hays, Head Coach Texas Tech

On the Regional
"I don't think anyone is giving us a chance, so that puts us in a pretty good situation. I don't think we are that bad of a team." "We don't care who's here, we don't care what the situation is, we're just gonna go after Rutgers with everything we've got."

On Rutgers
"I know Rutgers can hit, I know they have strengths and things like that, we can't do anything about that but we can worry about our approach."

On having a week off
"We desperately needed it, we started over and had a good week of work and these guys are mentally better now than they were a week ago at this time. Whether that's good enough to get us through, we'll find out but we're better off now than we were a week ago."

--TTU--