Nebraska pre-tournament quotes

Nebraska Coach Mike Anderson
Opening Statement

"We had a good practice today. I just told the team, and I'll say it to you guys too, I am excited for this team. I am excited for this opportunity; it is something we have been working for all year long. We didn't go out and announce our goals, but it has been our goal all year long to go out and play at home in a regional. Now we have a chance to go out there and be confident that we have our home crowd, and that is important to us. I can't wait for tomorrow to see our kids take the field in front of the home crowd and show that confidence that they have had all year long. We have a good opportunity and now we need to go out there and take advantage of it."

 

On the effect of the upcoming draft on Alex Gordon

"With the Team USA stuff, there was a lot of opportunities to talk then. It kind of set the tone for what was going to happen in the next nine, 10, 11 months. If you know Alex Gordon, you just say 'This is what we would like to have happen' and it has. It is my belief that Alex has had a successful year because his focus has been on this team. It is the least amount of pressure I have seen in a big situation because of what he has done. Because he has been focused on the team, that kind of unselfishness has led him to a great year."

 

On the pitching rotation

"We don't need to change things up. Joba (Chamberlain) has been great in that first spot. Everyone knows that the reason he didn't pitch last week was because we didn't want to short him rest. Joba is the guy we want on the mound in that first game, no question. He has been great all year long. He has dealt with that Friday night pressure, and in the Big 12, that is invaluable to understand that you are going against the other team's number one and you have to pitch well and the other guy has to break first. That is what we are looking at in this first game. It sets up nicely. We feel good that Joba is throwing that first one. We feel great that Johnny Dorn is coming on, doing great things and giving us a chance in that second game no matter who it is against. Zach Kroenke and (Brian) Duensing are valuable for us to round it out. If we need Duensing, we can use him in the first or second game. We feel good about the four guys that we feel can start for us."

 

On the Illinois at Chicago Flames

"They pitch well. We are still not sure who they are going to throw, but we know that they have two guys that can throw it. Pitching, obviously, can always beat you. That is something that puts a little concern in you. We feel confident in what we can do offensively. They are well coached -- we know that. They are very sound fundamentally. Mike Dee does a great job. We are going to have to be at the top of our game."

 

On the team's health

"Jesse Boyer is fine. He could have played Sunday, but Daniel Bruce was hot and we didn't want to take him out of the lineup. We will see Jesse this weekend in some capacity. Dustin (Timm) is still a little sore, but he will be available for us. We are happy that we didn't use him last week because he is a lot healthier now than he was before."

 

On playing in front of a home crowd

"It is a nice advantage. We played our tails off all year long for the opportunity to be at home. We understand the value of playing at home. In order to reach our goals, we had to do some things within the league and within the tournament to keep ourselves at home. This might be the Lincoln, Neb. Regional on everybody else's map, but to me, this is the Husker Regional. Our fans will show up dressed in red and ready to go. I can't wait for our kids to have the chance to walk through that tunnel and see our fans."

 

Sophomore Joba Chamberlain
On his season

"I am just so blessed to be given this opportunity to play in front of friends and family and put the 'N' on my hat. I am going to go out and represent myself and my family the best I can. It is just a great honor to be a part of this team and a part of this staff.

 

On the big game pressure

You have to take every game as it is. You are going to have that adrenaline and the emotions going. You hare going to be pitching in front of 8,000 people and you just have to use that to your advantage. We just have to go out there what we've have done all year. We have to go out there, play our game, and let the chips fall."

 

On trying to make the CWS

"The sky is the limit for this team. We know that we have the talent and the coaching staff to make it."

 

Junior Alex Gordon
On playing with the pressure of the draft

"I think about the team. We have been working hard all year. We have worked very hard all season and I am not going to let something like that distract me. If it is going to happen, it is going to happen."

 

On this year's team

"Right now, I think that we are playing our best baseball at the right time. We are confident, and we are looking forward to this. We are just going to come out and play like we have been playing lately and I think things will take care of themselves."

 

On the goals

"I think everybody wants to go to the CWS. That is what we are working for, and we are going to don everything we can to get there. Everyone is excited to try to get there."

 

On trying to make the CWS

"We are not thinking about not making it, we are thinking about making it. We are thinking that we are going to go all the way."