TYLER WILSON
Why the dramatic difference from Friday and today?
"Last night we didn’t get timely hits. We had runners on in a couple different situations and we just didn’t come through. Today was different, and that played a huge role in the win."
Your home run was a no-doubter. What was the pitch?
"He’d thrown three great ones to me the at-bat before when I struck out on three straight changeups. I was just trying to see it up and got lucky."
How much was this win needed?
"We needed it. We always need timely hit. You can never score too many runs, but it’s just awesome to be the guy to do it."
What was said after last night's 12-0 loss?
"We knew that we had something to play for and nothing to lose, so we just went out there and gave it everything we had. It wasn’t all that pretty, but we came out on top, and that’s what we needed to do."
Why was it easy to bounce back from a loss like that?
"That was ugly last night, I don’t care who it is, 12-0 isn’t a good looking game, so we knew we had to come out today and prove a point that that’s not who we are."
How big are the stakes tomorrow?
"This is the biggest game of the year. We’re playing for a regional, so this is definitely the biggest game I’ve played in here at Tulane."
JACKSON JOHNSON
Can you comment on your day?
"It was awesome. I was glad to get out there and give our team a chance to win on Saturday and get the series to tomorrow so it was good."
What happened on the home run?
"Honestly, I haven’t hit a home run since Cooperstown when I was 12. In BP, they always give me crap for it but his fastball had some arm-side runs so I backed off the plate about an extra half inch and I backed up and tried to get the barrel out there."
How nice was it to provide that two-run cushion?
"Yeah, it was awesome. We were just trying to get the leadoff guy on base and try to punch another one across to get Gibaut a little leeway so it was good."
When did you find out you were in the starting lineup and batting second?
"Actually I had an exam this morning so I came in a little late for breakfast and came in and saw the lineup and was like, all right, let’s go."
What exam?
"Microeconomics."
The frustration was high yesterday. What changed?
"Coach Pierce gave us a little talk before the game and got into us a little bit and we deserved it. We were like, let’s go out there and give it everything we’ve got and try to win the series because if we wintomorrow, we’re right back where we want to be."
What do you think about your chances tomorrow?
"I think Gibbs is going to give us an excellent chance on the mound, fill up the zone and come back with the same tenacity tomorrow."
DAVID PIERCE
On today's win...
"The win was a lot better, definitely, and I thought we just scratched and clawed all day. It wasn't pretty at times, but we just hung in there. We did a super job on turning three double plays and picking up our pitchers today."
We were fortunate, but the key to the entire game was we really just scratched and clawed and we gave ourselves a chance even though, at times, we looked pretty ugly."
On starting Jackson Johnson...
"He's very competitive. What I love about Jackson is that he's got a lot of confidence in himself and he's been swinging the bat really well. I talked to him about a week ago and said you're a perfect type of guy to be a spark plug for us when we need it. And boy, he was awesome today and we needed it."
On Wilson being so versatile at the plate...
"It was outstanding. He got beat on the changeup early in the game where he chased down and all he had to do was see the changeup up and be ready for it and put a great swing on it. And he executed the bunt and gave us another opportunity to tack on a run."
On the dugout waking up after T-Willy's bomb...
"They had something to cheer about. It gave us the lead, so it really excited the team and we finished strong."
On Massey's final line...
"He had stuff on the ball. I think he was as frustrated as anyone. He wasn't doing anything different. I don't know if he tensed up or pressed a little bit but it didn't end the way he would've expected it to end."
On the relief pitching being key...
"Duester was not sharp but he was good enough to win."
On winning while issuing 10 walks...
"I feel very fortunate. The reason we were able to overcome it was because of the double plays. We made some pitches but it was just a stressful game."
On having to take on Sean Allen's job as third base coach after he was ejected Friday, which carries automatic one-game suspension ...
"I told Coach Allen he'd better quit being thrown out. I'm getting stressed out."
On Sunday's game...
"It's got so much on the line. There's so many implications of what happens after tomorrow's ballgame. It's not the end, by any means, but it sure positions us a lot better."
On Gibbs getting tomorrow's start...
"I just expect him to really trust his stuff in the strikezone. He throws three pitches that are quality. He's not going to overpower anyone but he can pitch ahead of guys if he just trusts his stuff in the zone."
On Gibaut's availability...
"He'll probably be good for at least two [innings]. He's pretty fresh."
On Jake Willsey ignoring his stop sign and scoring Tulane's first run ...
"It was a great move, wasn't it? It was a deke all the way (said jokingly)."
Why the dramatic difference from Friday and today?
"Last night we didn’t get timely hits. We had runners on in a couple different situations and we just didn’t come through. Today was different, and that played a huge role in the win."
Your home run was a no-doubter. What was the pitch?
"He’d thrown three great ones to me the at-bat before when I struck out on three straight changeups. I was just trying to see it up and got lucky."
How much was this win needed?
"We needed it. We always need timely hit. You can never score too many runs, but it’s just awesome to be the guy to do it."
What was said after last night's 12-0 loss?
"We knew that we had something to play for and nothing to lose, so we just went out there and gave it everything we had. It wasn’t all that pretty, but we came out on top, and that’s what we needed to do."
Why was it easy to bounce back from a loss like that?
"That was ugly last night, I don’t care who it is, 12-0 isn’t a good looking game, so we knew we had to come out today and prove a point that that’s not who we are."
How big are the stakes tomorrow?
"This is the biggest game of the year. We’re playing for a regional, so this is definitely the biggest game I’ve played in here at Tulane."
JACKSON JOHNSON
Can you comment on your day?
"It was awesome. I was glad to get out there and give our team a chance to win on Saturday and get the series to tomorrow so it was good."
What happened on the home run?
"Honestly, I haven’t hit a home run since Cooperstown when I was 12. In BP, they always give me crap for it but his fastball had some arm-side runs so I backed off the plate about an extra half inch and I backed up and tried to get the barrel out there."
How nice was it to provide that two-run cushion?
"Yeah, it was awesome. We were just trying to get the leadoff guy on base and try to punch another one across to get Gibaut a little leeway so it was good."
When did you find out you were in the starting lineup and batting second?
"Actually I had an exam this morning so I came in a little late for breakfast and came in and saw the lineup and was like, all right, let’s go."
What exam?
"Microeconomics."
The frustration was high yesterday. What changed?
"Coach Pierce gave us a little talk before the game and got into us a little bit and we deserved it. We were like, let’s go out there and give it everything we’ve got and try to win the series because if we wintomorrow, we’re right back where we want to be."
What do you think about your chances tomorrow?
"I think Gibbs is going to give us an excellent chance on the mound, fill up the zone and come back with the same tenacity tomorrow."
DAVID PIERCE
On today's win...
"The win was a lot better, definitely, and I thought we just scratched and clawed all day. It wasn't pretty at times, but we just hung in there. We did a super job on turning three double plays and picking up our pitchers today."
We were fortunate, but the key to the entire game was we really just scratched and clawed and we gave ourselves a chance even though, at times, we looked pretty ugly."
On starting Jackson Johnson...
"He's very competitive. What I love about Jackson is that he's got a lot of confidence in himself and he's been swinging the bat really well. I talked to him about a week ago and said you're a perfect type of guy to be a spark plug for us when we need it. And boy, he was awesome today and we needed it."
On Wilson being so versatile at the plate...
"It was outstanding. He got beat on the changeup early in the game where he chased down and all he had to do was see the changeup up and be ready for it and put a great swing on it. And he executed the bunt and gave us another opportunity to tack on a run."
On the dugout waking up after T-Willy's bomb...
"They had something to cheer about. It gave us the lead, so it really excited the team and we finished strong."
On Massey's final line...
"He had stuff on the ball. I think he was as frustrated as anyone. He wasn't doing anything different. I don't know if he tensed up or pressed a little bit but it didn't end the way he would've expected it to end."
On the relief pitching being key...
"Duester was not sharp but he was good enough to win."
On winning while issuing 10 walks...
"I feel very fortunate. The reason we were able to overcome it was because of the double plays. We made some pitches but it was just a stressful game."
On having to take on Sean Allen's job as third base coach after he was ejected Friday, which carries automatic one-game suspension ...
"I told Coach Allen he'd better quit being thrown out. I'm getting stressed out."
On Sunday's game...
"It's got so much on the line. There's so many implications of what happens after tomorrow's ballgame. It's not the end, by any means, but it sure positions us a lot better."
On Gibbs getting tomorrow's start...
"I just expect him to really trust his stuff in the strikezone. He throws three pitches that are quality. He's not going to overpower anyone but he can pitch ahead of guys if he just trusts his stuff in the zone."
On Gibaut's availability...
"He'll probably be good for at least two [innings]. He's pretty fresh."
On Jake Willsey ignoring his stop sign and scoring Tulane's first run ...
"It was a great move, wasn't it? It was a deke all the way (said jokingly)."