Evansville baseball head coach Wes Carroll congratulates Tennessee for winning the Knoxville Super Regional.
Evansville advanced to its first NCAA Tournament Super Regional in program history. The Purple Aces lost a best-of-three series to Tennessee, 2-1, in the Knoxville Super Regional.
Evansville head coach Wes Carroll met with media following the Purple Aces’, 12-1, loss to Tennessee in game No. 3.
“I’d like to congratulate Tennessee, coach (Tony) Vitello and his entire coaching staff,” Carroll said. “What an accomplishment to go to Omaha once again. It was a hard-fought series, but they definitely earned today, so I definitely want to congratulate them and all their players.
“It’s been an incredible run by our Aces, by this senior group, by each and every guy on the roster that believed in this place. We made some history along the way, and yes, the outcome didn’t go our way today, but I couldn’t be more proud of our seniors and our team really setting the standard at the University of Evansville for many years to come.”
Evansville baseball head coach Wes Carroll discusses the stakes being high in game No. 3 at Tennessee on Sunday.
A winner-take-all game will be contested on Sunday at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Tennessee (54-12) will host Evansville (39-25) in game No. 3 of the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Super Regional. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT (ESPNU).
The Purple Aces tied the best-of-three series on Saturday, recording its first Super Regional victory in program history.
Evansville head coach Wes Carroll met with media and discussed Sunday’s contest for the right to advance to the College World Series.
“The stakes are as high as they can get for an opportunity to go to Omaha,” Carroll said. “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 Purple Aces defeated No. 1 national seed Tennessee, 10-8, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Evansville head coach Wes Carroll discussed the Purple Aces’ win.
“This team doesn’t surprise me anymore, they just don’t,” Carroll said. “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.”
