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.”
Showing posts with label Tracy Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tracy Smith. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 3 box scores & post game comments
Game 6 Minnesota 12 Purdue 3
Purdue coach Doug Schreiber
On Tom Buske's pitching:
“We really have to tip our hat to Buske. That's his second complete (game) on us on this year. It was a great performance as far as we had them on the ropes again in the first three innings. Again, we had a chance to probably have a little knock-down punch and didn't get it and then from there, we couldn't shut their offense down and he (Buske) came back strong and shut us down.”
On the tournament experience:
“Hopefully we can build off this experience. In your worst year, you hope that you finish sixth and get into the tournament. And, then, in one of your better years, you have a chance to compete for a championship. Again, we like to think of this as, not rock bottom, but it's not our goal to be the No. 6 seed and just making it to the tournament. We want keep building and keep trying to compete and win this thing.”
On Derek McCallum’s home run:
“We talked it about it before the game that if there was one guy that we didn't want to beat us – if we didn't have to have beat us – that was McCallum … but, again, tip your hat to him. He is a great hitter. He came up again in the clutch for them and Minnesota's a good team.”
Game 7 Minnesota 13 Illinois 4
Minnesota coach John Anderson:
On the win over Illinois:
“To advance in this tournament, No. 1, you need good starting pitching, and we had that today. No. 2, I was concerned about our team and how we lost our last game of the regular season and some of the travel we’ve been on and so on and so forth. I thought we lacked a little energy Wednesday and I talked to the team after the game about trying to find some of that energy and bring that to the ball park today and obviously we did that.”
On the team’s overall performance:
“I thought we played with great energy today, and in all phases of the game I thought we executed on offense, defense and pitching. I thought we looked like the Minnesota team I’ve see all season.”
Illinois coach Dan Hartleb
On chances of qualifying for NCAA Championship:
“The last few games we’ve been struggling, so if we can play hard I think we are a team that can play well at a regional and I think we can be a team that can go in and represent well. On the other hand, you have to finish strong and we did not do that, so we will have to wait and see. If the right teams win their conferences – those teams that are already in – then we might have an outside chance.”
Game 8 Indiana 13 Ohio State 3
Indiana coach Tracy Smith
On the win over Ohio State:
“As I said yesterday, it is so important to stay in the winner’s bracket. We knew Ohio State, with the crowd, was going to be a tough contest. But the pivotal play was the bases load, nobody out that we were able to get out of (in the fifth inning) and then we were able to score some runs.”
On his team’s chances to win the tournament:
“We are taking nothing for granted. I am glad our guys are confident and on a big roll, but it can all change in a hurry.”
On the performance of starter Blake Monar:
“One thing Blake did was he battled and he competed. That was not his best performance, but he battled and competed and he gave us a chance to win. We got what we needed out of him today.”
On the status of Eric Arnett:
“We will probably not start him, and a lot depends on the situation of the game. He has a bright future in this game and we want to be smart about it. But, rest assured, if the right situation presents itself you will see Arnett tomorrow.”
Ohio State coach Bob Todd
On his team’s performance:
“The game of baseball never ceases to amaze. I am not sure there is much I can positively say about our ballclub. I was not happy with the way we swung the bats, I was not happy with our defense, and there is not much to say about the way we pitched. But that is not to take anything away from Indiana, because they are one of the hottest teams in this tournament right now.”
On the team’s attitude heading into Saturday:
“We talked about it afterward and we have the mindset that we will do as well as we can to try and win this tournament. I am packing a lunch and plans to be here all day. Eric Best will start for us and we will do everything we can to play tomorrow night.”
Purdue coach Doug Schreiber
On Tom Buske's pitching:
“We really have to tip our hat to Buske. That's his second complete (game) on us on this year. It was a great performance as far as we had them on the ropes again in the first three innings. Again, we had a chance to probably have a little knock-down punch and didn't get it and then from there, we couldn't shut their offense down and he (Buske) came back strong and shut us down.”
On the tournament experience:
“Hopefully we can build off this experience. In your worst year, you hope that you finish sixth and get into the tournament. And, then, in one of your better years, you have a chance to compete for a championship. Again, we like to think of this as, not rock bottom, but it's not our goal to be the No. 6 seed and just making it to the tournament. We want keep building and keep trying to compete and win this thing.”
On Derek McCallum’s home run:
“We talked it about it before the game that if there was one guy that we didn't want to beat us – if we didn't have to have beat us – that was McCallum … but, again, tip your hat to him. He is a great hitter. He came up again in the clutch for them and Minnesota's a good team.”
Game 7 Minnesota 13 Illinois 4
Minnesota coach John Anderson:
On the win over Illinois:
“To advance in this tournament, No. 1, you need good starting pitching, and we had that today. No. 2, I was concerned about our team and how we lost our last game of the regular season and some of the travel we’ve been on and so on and so forth. I thought we lacked a little energy Wednesday and I talked to the team after the game about trying to find some of that energy and bring that to the ball park today and obviously we did that.”
On the team’s overall performance:
“I thought we played with great energy today, and in all phases of the game I thought we executed on offense, defense and pitching. I thought we looked like the Minnesota team I’ve see all season.”
Illinois coach Dan Hartleb
On chances of qualifying for NCAA Championship:
“The last few games we’ve been struggling, so if we can play hard I think we are a team that can play well at a regional and I think we can be a team that can go in and represent well. On the other hand, you have to finish strong and we did not do that, so we will have to wait and see. If the right teams win their conferences – those teams that are already in – then we might have an outside chance.”
Game 8 Indiana 13 Ohio State 3
Indiana coach Tracy Smith
On the win over Ohio State:
“As I said yesterday, it is so important to stay in the winner’s bracket. We knew Ohio State, with the crowd, was going to be a tough contest. But the pivotal play was the bases load, nobody out that we were able to get out of (in the fifth inning) and then we were able to score some runs.”
On his team’s chances to win the tournament:
“We are taking nothing for granted. I am glad our guys are confident and on a big roll, but it can all change in a hurry.”
On the performance of starter Blake Monar:
“One thing Blake did was he battled and he competed. That was not his best performance, but he battled and competed and he gave us a chance to win. We got what we needed out of him today.”
On the status of Eric Arnett:
“We will probably not start him, and a lot depends on the situation of the game. He has a bright future in this game and we want to be smart about it. But, rest assured, if the right situation presents itself you will see Arnett tomorrow.”
Ohio State coach Bob Todd
On his team’s performance:
“The game of baseball never ceases to amaze. I am not sure there is much I can positively say about our ballclub. I was not happy with the way we swung the bats, I was not happy with our defense, and there is not much to say about the way we pitched. But that is not to take anything away from Indiana, because they are one of the hottest teams in this tournament right now.”
On the team’s attitude heading into Saturday:
“We talked about it afterward and we have the mindset that we will do as well as we can to try and win this tournament. I am packing a lunch and plans to be here all day. Eric Best will start for us and we will do everything we can to play tomorrow night.”
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