NC State pre-tournament quotes

NC State Head Coach Elliott Avent Opening Statement "First of all, we are just happy to be here, as I am sure that the rest of teams are. This field and the ballpark are absolutely beautiful, and from what I understand, this is a great city. The fans support the team very well and they love their Cornhuskers. We are just happy to be here and we look forward to playing."   On the pitching rotation "Basically, we have had three guys that have thrown on the weekend all year. Andrew Brackman joined us about six weeks ago and had a couple of outings out of the pen and then started the rest of the way. Down the stretch, he, Gib Hobson and Phil Davidson have been our three big guys. Gib has been a starter for the past two years and has a few more innings, so we just decided to go with him on Friday."   On possibly playing two teams that will have home crowds "It is nice for both teams that they are basically playing at home. They feel comfortable with the environments and the surrondings -- the wind, the time zone. It is nice to play in front of your home crowd and I know that the Cornhusker faithful will pack it in, and I am sure that they will pack it in for Creighton. But I think that our players are just happy to play in this beautiful ballpark. The grounds crew obviously has done a great job--- it plays absolutely wonderful. We like to play in front of people. I would rather play in front of 10,000 people against me than 200 people for me."   On Creighton "I know very little about Creighton, but from what I understand, they are a senior-ladden ballclub, which is always nice this time of year. They have played together and been together for a while. They are very good defensively and turn a lot of double plays. They are very sound and will not give you a lot of chances. You need to take advantage of everything and make a few opportunities for yourselves."   Freshman Pitcher Andrew Brackman On not pitching Friday "It might help me out a little bit to be able to watch how the ball plays, how the field and how the crowd and the environment are."   On how basketball helps with baseball "The environment helps me out a little bit. Being a basketball player, I have played in front of a ton of fans, and being out on the baseball diamond, it is about one fourth of that. It helps me out a lot. It helps me stay less nervious and keeps my emotions from running too high."   Sophomore First Baseman Aaron Bates On Hawk's Field "I think it plays pretty big. Out in center field, the gaps are pretty big. I think that if we stick to the way we play baseball, we'll be fine. It won't be that big of an adjustment. For the most part, I think that the ballpark plays pretty true to how it is."   On ACC pitching "I think that every weekend in the ACC you see number one and number two starters that are excellent pitchers who know what they are doing. They come after you and don't make many mistakes. The Big 12 has a lot of great pitchers as well, but I think that the ACC is prepared us pretty well for that."