Big Ten Network: Championship Game video and reactions

Highlights



Reaction



Indiana coach Tracy Smith

On winning the team’s first Big Ten Tournament championship since 1996:
“I am very pleased, obviously, for our guys. I just said to our seniors to think about where we were four years ago. And we talked about what a neat experience it will be to play in a regional and I am very glad these guys will get to experience that because they have worked very hard for it.”

On qualifying for the NCAA Tournament:
“It is awesome to go to a (regional), but I told the kids to don’t think for a second that we can’t get to the ultimate thing (the College World Series). The kids we throw out 1-2 (Arnett and Bashore) are as good as anybody in the country, and the way we are playing as a team right now and the way we are swinging the bats, anything is certainly possible.”

On the performance of Blake Monar and Matt Igel:
“We waited for a long time for two guys to step up and we got that out of them this weekend. And the neat thing about it is, they are both freshman. We wouldn’t be where we are right now if those guys didn’t do a good job shutting down good baseball teams.”

Senior outfielder Chris Hervey

On winning the Big Ten Tournament:
“I have been here for four years and I have seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. It is a testament to our players that we can get here and play so well. We kept our eye on the goal and we worked hard to get there.”

On the tournament experience:
“From the facilities and everything else to how we were treated by staff, I certainly can’t imagine a conference tournament that was run better than this one.”

On fan support:
“We are sports fans in Indiana and we wanted a team to cheer and we are that team.”


Minnesota coach John Anderson

Opening comments:

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Indiana University on winning the tournament championship. They deserved to win the championship because they played excellent baseball for four days on all facets of the game. They should be commended for that.”

On his team's experience in the tournament:
“I'm extremely proud of our guys that after a difficult loss against an outstanding pitcher Thursday that we were able to bounce back and find the energy and the competitiveness and the determination to try to fight our way back in this thing. To me, that was impressive. I have no regrets. I couldn't be prouder of them.”

On fighting through the loser’s bracket to reach the championship game
“If you look at our team, we played consistently well all year long. I don't think you can play consistently well all year long, unless you can weather some of the storms that come up in the course of the individual games, weekends and series as the year goes along and I think they have a tremendous ability to stay focused and not get to far ahead of themselves and the ability to bounce back and get ready for the next opportunity and not get stuck on what happen. This group has been unbelievable to forgive themselves and move on.”