April 6, 2008

Recap |  Final Stats

TULANE HEAD COACH Rick Jones

Overall thoughts on the game
"It was a very disappointing day. We've got to play better as a team. We left way too many people on. When you leave the bases loaded three different times, you leave 13 runners on and you have an opportunity to break the game open early on and don't do it, it's a disappointing thing.

"We've got to throw more strikes. I thought Jonathan threw well, but as a staff, we have not commanded the strike zone like teams I've had in the past. We've got to do a better job of that, and the results are evident. We have got to be able to swing the bat better in RBI situations or the result is going to be what they were today."

On the game being called after 10 innings due to travel
"I'm disappointed by the time limit, which was not in our control. Who knows what would have happened if we had played the rest of the time? No one knows because we didn't get a chance to. But when you put yourself on the edge by not stretching the lead when you have opportunities and are given free passes, you usually deserve the fate you get and that's what happened."

On what the C-USA rule is for time limits on Sunday games
"The bottom line is we did not go by what the bylaws state. The conference bylaws say you have to leave a four-hour window. We were left with a three hour and 15 minute window because nobody told us about what their flight plans were until we got to the plate (for line-up exchange). The umpires set that. The conference has told us that's not the way it is. It's in the bylaws. It has to be done by Dec. 1. We sent a couple of e-mails this week asking, `What are your flight times?' and never got a response. It is supposed to be filed by Dec. 1. We could have played at noon, which we've done twice already now and we've had to do on the road several times. I don't know what the conference is going to handle this, but I'm very disappointed in that. I'm equally disappointed by the way we played. "

On the Marshall rally in the ninth
"We walked two guys, and there's no defense for that. If you look over the period of time that I've been here, most of the Top 10 guys in strikeout-to-walk ratio have been under me. That's something that we stress. We keep going to the pen, and if we keep getting the same results, we are going to run out of options. We just have to throw more strikes. We know that as a staff. Our guys are trying. But the difference is execution and effort."

On what he takes from today's 5-5 tie
"It's really hard to see a positive right now. We know we're going to see a tough conference road trip next weekend. We're on the road for four of the next five games, and it doesn't get easier. We've got to get better, bottom line."