FORT WORTH -- Notes from the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you) ...

 

Regarding the qualification to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round:

"It feels great because I knew I had to do well today. It's my senior year and I had to throw strikes to give us an opportunity to win.  It's a great feeling to know that we're going to a playoff past the conference tournament.

"Trey came out and pitched a gem. Offensively, we showed up and swung the sticks well. We played good defense when it mattered."

"It feels good to make the national tournament. We did a lot of good things this year. I've got a bunch of guys who've worked hard. Give a ton of credit to these guys. We just battled. We'd like to be tournament champions, That's still our goal.

"The game was high intensity the whole time. We really wanted this game, because they knocked us out last year. This is the game everyone wanted. We all pulled for each other. To beat them again, it's going to take everyone going on the same page, and playing every single out until the show is over.

Senior Jesus Mendoza, winning pitcher:
"I just tried to give everything I got. I've been throwing one inning every weekend and I wasn't sure my body will be able to handle it. Being a senior is a big thing. I wanted to make sure we all got a W together. Changing the speed on my pitches helped me out a lot. I got the job done, that's all that mattered.

Coach Bryan Aughney:
"What a performance by Jesus. He throws eight innings, three-run baseball on one pitch.

"We lived to play another day. Tomorrow should be fun and exciting. These guys have worked hard all year to get to this point. We did a lot of good things this year. I've got a bunch of guys who've worked hard. All the credit goes to them."