Everything Evansville head coach Wes Carroll said after the 10-8 win over No. 1 Tennessee Saturday afternoon in Game 2 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, evening the series at 1-1 and forcing a decisive Game 3 on Sunday:
Opening Statement
“This team doesn’t surprise me anymore. They just don’t. Just an incredible effort after what they’ve been through over the past two weeks. For them to dig deep there in the middle part of that game and perform the way that they did, it’s something that I can’t really put into words. Yesterday, we came to the yard, and it was bright lights. We were tight, the dugout wasn’t really engaged, and I was upset about it. Today, it was the complete opposite, and I felt like we were ourselves. We were the Aces that liked to have fun and are loose coming into the yard. In an elimination game, it’s a great feeling to have — it really is whenever you know that your team is ready. I said yesterday that solo home runs don’t hurt you. I didn’t know that they were going to stack three of them back to back to back and kind of throw us on our heels. Donovan Schultz has been throwing really well for us over the past month and a half, but we had to pull him. That’s really leaning heavy on our bullpen and Jakob Meyer coming in, giving us a performance of just a goose egg and another goose egg to give our offense a chance during the fourth, fifth and sixth to do something really unique, and what I feel like we’re capable of and that’s putting up crooked numbers on the scoreboard. These two guys beside me had incredible games, but it was also some really special at-bats that we had through the course of that game, including Chase Hug and Brent Widder, amongst many others. I’m just really proud of our guys. I think it’s hands down the greatest win of our school’s history, a program that I’m extremely proud of. I bleed purple, and it’s great to be able to experience that as the head baseball coach at UE.”
What it means to him to have an Evansville team willing to go to war for each other
“It is an emotional roller coaster, no doubt about it. We’re human beings, and this type of moment, this type of stage, the type of anxiety and excitement that brings. I’m just so thrilled and happy whenever I see our guys play to their capability. I think as a coach, you want the see the best version of your club, and you want to see the best version of your players. What we’re getting out of so many different individual efforts is something that I’m extremely happy about. Just to go back to the fans, I think we have five or six hundred fans. They’re loud, they’re here, they’re proud and they’re supporting our program. Most importantly, the city of Evansville, the university, the support that we’ve had over the last two weeks has meant something. It really has, and these guys have fed off of that.”
The decision to make a pitching change in the ninth inning and what it means for the Evansville bullpen tomorrow
“We’re going to get ready for tomorrow–tomorrow morning. Nick Smith gave us such an unbelievable effort, and I felt like he made some really quality pitches that didn’t go our way. Obviously, you have to credit what that offense is capable of doing. Shane Harris is a senior leaving it all out on the field, and I wanted him to be able to get three outs. We knew he would be able to get us three outs. We were trying to save him, no doubt. You have a five-run lead. When that dwindles away, you have to go to your guy. The whole thing is, I want to be able to hit my pillow at night if the end of my season happens with the right guys. That’s why we went to Nick Smith. That’s why we went to Shane Harris, and they showed up for us. Taking a step back, that’s the main thing. We came into the yard today and said we need you guys to step up, really perform. Our guys did that in weird moments and different moments and (especially) these two guys beside me, Nick Smith, Shane Harris. Brennan Hord, who hasn’t had a hit in quite some time, gets a big base hit and then hits big two-run home run. It was just a really special effort from our offense, our defense and from our guys on the mound behind Donovan (Schultz).”
Evansville executing with two outs, both hitting and pitching
“We put ourselves in a couple of decent counts, but we didn’t miss a pitch over the plate. We were competitive with two strikes. Top to bottom, we just had some outstanding efforts and swings. There are some at-bats that I will never forget. That Chase Hug at-bat and that Brent Widder at-bat to get us over the hump and get us tied with two outs. It’s a testament to this club and offense. Has been all year. We really feed off of one another, and we are a momentum-building type of offense. It is great to see us get rewarded for playing the game well. I couldn’t be more proud of their efforts. I mean Cal (McGinnis) and Kip (Fougerousse) delivered for us as well.”
If it’s Evansville’s or Tennessee’s game to lose on Sunday
“I mean it is both teams’ games. The stakes are as high as they can get for an opportunity to go to Omaha. A dream that every kid wants to do. I know UT has been there a couple of times, but I guarantee there are people in that dugout that haven’t been. As a coaching staff, this is why we work, and this is why we are in this business to play at the highest level. We are in rare air and uncharted waters, but we are going to come to the yard loose. We are going to really pick each other up, and we are going to need some big efforts on the mound in order to stay in the game and let our offense hopefully keep us in it and go win it.
“The last thing I want to say before another question, is I want to congratulate Kip Fougerousse. He just broke some records with the University of Evansville. He is now the home run king, taking over the single season home run record and the single season hits record as well. I want to congratulate Kip. If you look at those numbers with the season that he has had, it is one that will be in the record books for a long time, so congratulations to Kip.”
If Shane Harris is a possibility for Sunday
“Always. A senior leaving it out there, and I would not be surprised. I don’t know what kind of effort we are going to get and, obviously, I want to make sure I don’t put him in harm’s way.”
If Evansville has an edge on playing the No. 1 overall seed
“Yeah, they are the No. 1 team in the country for a reason. I think they are going to lean heavily on their talented players and their talented coaching staff. We have to worry about us. The stakes are high for us too. As a coach, it’s very challenging to get here. You don’t know if you’re ever going to get here again. It’s going to be one of those things where I can be one game away for the rest of my life. I am going to cherish it. I’m going to embrace it, and most importantly I am going to make sure our boys are ready to compete like they did today for one another.”
Who will be the starting pitcher for Evansville on Sunday
“Honestly, we were in the dugout going through it. I have no clue. We will let you know. We will let people know as soon as we break it down. We do have some guys. I think Nick Smith is going to be available in some capacity as well. It’s going to be all hands on deck. Like I said, we’re going to get some unbelievable efforts to give our offense a chance. We’re there. We’re going to show up, and we’re going to have a lot of fun with it.”
Evansville Senior Infielder Kip Fougerousse
How coming into the ballpark a little loose helped Evansville on Saturday
“I think whenever you are loose and having fun it takes a lot of stress off of your shoulders. I think it is just easier to calm yourself down in the box. We just wanted to go in and enjoy what could have been our last game ever together. When you are sitting there and just trying to enjoy yourself, I think it is a lot easier, and you just go out there and have fun.”
What allowed Evansville to get hits off of Drew Beam and Nate Snead
“He is one of the tougher pitchers in the country. I think if you just go out there and stick to your plan, you will get something to hit, and that’s what I did. I put a good swing on a ball in my first at-bat, but it didn’t go my way. I just stuck with it. Once I finally got that first-base hit, our offense started to click, and it started a snowball effect. Props to him. He pitched really well, but I think he just got a little tired there at the end.”
How it feels to be at the top of the history books at Evansville
“There’ve been a lot of great players here, and just looking back on it it’s pretty crazy to me. I never thought I would be in this position, and I have to give a lot of credit to Skipper (Wes Carroll). I came here to Evansville last year, and he’s put a lot of belief in me. He doesn’t try to change me, who I am and who I am as a baseball player. He lets me go out there and be me. I am really thankful to him for that. He’s put me in this position where I can just go out there and be as successful as I can be.”
How they were capable of being the first No. 4 seed to beat a No. 1 national seed
“I think because we’re super old. We’re a bunch of old guys that have played a lot of baseball. We are not scared of the moment, and we have a lot of guys that really want it out there, a lot of good baseball players. There’s no other way to say it. We’re just an old bunch of guys that like having fun, and we’ve been together for a while.”
Evansville Junior Infielder Cal McGinnis
How coming into the ballpark a little loose helped
“Yeah, I kind of second that. Obviously, we played loose and you could see that today. It was an elimination game, and I don’t think we let that affect how we played. I thought it was a great effort all around, and that really took a lot of stress off of our shoulders.”
Where his power has come from the last two games
“I don’t necessarily know where the power comes from, but on Thursday we really saw the ball flew well here. It carries well in all parts of the day. I think it comes back to just sticking to our approach, shortening up and not trying to do too much with any specific pitch. I feel like I have done that well these first two games so far.”
Why this Evansville team was capable of being the first No. 4 seed to beat a No. 1 national seed
“I’ll second that. It’s a very veteran group of guys. This is my first year here, but it’s been awesome playing with this group of guys. The second base umpire asked me today ‘Y’all
are old, right?’ I said ‘Yeah, we’re pretty old.’ And he said, ‘I can tell because you guys play the game the right way.” That meant a lot. That was in the third inning, so there was a lot of game left at that point. I think that really rang true today. We play the game the right way.”
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