Little Rock - 10, LSU - 4
CHRIS CURRY: Well, thank you. I was thinking about the seventh inning when you started realizing you got a shot to win the ball game and there was a gentleman that I respect a lot, and I won't say his name. Right after I took the job, he came into my office and said what are you thinking? This is career suicide. What are you doing? I said I just think we can win at Little Rock and I think we can get good players and believed in the opportunity, believed in Little Rock and now we have the support and we, they just won the biggest game in program history on -- I keep saying it, one of the biggest stages in college baseball.
I'm just along for the ride, guys. I'm just enjoying what these guys are doing. It's a blast to coach this team and they're having a lot of fun. They're playing with no fear, no worries, no pressure and we have been for weeks now. It's just getting normal and I'm so happy and could not be more thrilled to get an opportunity to keep coaching them at least one more day. So I'm just grateful.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open out up for angel or Malcolm.
Q. For both Angel and Malcolm, I mean, Coach talked about you guys have been playing well for several weeks now. For you guys in that dugout post game, how much of this is -- you know, this is a cool night, but you also know what you guys can accomplish tomorrow. How much is this not just a one night thing for you guys but what you guys believe you can do?
ANGEL CANO: Man, I really think we're capable to do a lot of things just like, man, we went into the tournament as the eighth seed, dropped 13 or 14 out of our last 15 games. We just stick with the plan, play for each other and like Coach said, hold the rope. Just stay strong and believe.
MALCOLM BROWN: Yeah, I don't really think there's nothing we can't do as a team as long as we stay together, bonded right. There's nothing we can't do. No team we can't beat.
CHRIS CURRY: Guys, today is a special day because it is the one year birthday for Malcolm's son Myles, so big day for his family.
Q. Malcolm, I guess, just how much did that outing that you showed really give a blueprint, I guess, for your teammates tomorrow and what they could potentially do against this Tiger offense?
MALCOLM BROWN: Just go out there and attack, get strike one, fill up the zone, and see what happens. You got a defense behind you.
Q. Angel you were obviously locked in at the plate. At any point during the game did you kind of take a step back and realize how you were helping your team offensively and how contagious the hitting got for you guys?
ANGEL CANO: Yeah, absolutely. My mindset is just pitch-by-pitch, out-by-out, inning-by-inning, just making sure I get my pitch and like I said yesterday, put the bat on the ball and kind of live with the result.
CHRIS CURRY: I think Angel has done a good job as well defensively. The last out in game number one, Dallas Baptist was a line drive to Angel and we had the key double play lineout that Angel taught and he had the drop step deep pick there, so obviously the swings are huge but defensively, Angel's playing at a high level. I'm proud of him.
Q. Malcolm, how do you spell your son's first name?
MALCOLM BROWN: M-Y-L-E-S, Myles.
Q. Okay. And was that the biggest crowd you've ever played in front of? And what was that like, just the atmosphere maybe right before the game and throughout?
MALCOLM BROWN: Yes, sir, it definitely was, but the atmosphere, I just try to stay locked in, not let the moment be too big and just go do what I usually do. Go compete.
Q. Yeah, Malcolm, Coach said this afternoon a new hero would have to step up every game. For you to kind of be ready for this moment, how hard has it been the last few weeks to kind of stay locked in as this run is going on?
MALCOLM BROWN: Not very hard. When you got a team like we do and the guys I'm around every day, they help me stay locked in, keep me focused, keep me ready to go.
CHRIS CURRY: Hey, Jack, a couple of things about Malcolm. Game number one, Malcolm almost didn't even come to the field he was so sick to his stomach. Stayed at the hole tell and then I asked him, I said hey, just stay here and rest. We'll pitch you later. No, I'm coming. I'm coming.
He's tough, Malcolm. He's been through a lot in his life that I won't get into, but a cool story, he came into my office right at the beginning of the spring and said hey, Coach, I don't know if I'm going to be able to play anymore. I'm going to have to go support my family.
I said, well, sit down. Let's talk through what that looks like. And what would you go do? Well, I would get a job somewhere. Okay. Where? I don't know. I said okay, how long 'til you get your degree? About a year and a half. Okay. Anybody else in your family have a degree? No, sir. I said well how about let's be the first one to leave a legacy in your family and get a degree so the chances of your children getting a degree and that paying off exponentially throughout not only his life but the rest of his family. So I just needed to say I'm really glad Malcolm did not hang up baseball early in the year to go to work.
Q. Angel, I wasn't at your games all season, but Noot throws about 94 and Shores is up to 100. Is that an adjustment for y'all facing LSU's velocity?
ANGEL CANO: Yeah, absolutely. We have to make an adjustment. Obviously the speed is high. They're providing the speed so you stay short through it and just bottom -- those guys are probably going to play pro ball. Great pitchers, great staff. Just go there and compete and just got the bat to the ball and something good happened.
THE MODERATOR: Angel and Malcolm. Thank you for your time tonight. Happy birthday to Myles. Appreciate your time. Go get some rest. We'll see you tomorrow. Congratulations on your win.
Questions now for Coach?
Q. Chris, just the idea of belief, right? Anything can happen. Obviously you guys have been living it now but when you have a moment like this, how much does it just reenforce that idea in what we have seen as a crazy weekend of baseball?
CHRIS CURRY: If you have -- and this is a compliment to LSU but if you can bring a team in here and get a win, I think that it solidifies whether or not you have what it takes to when any college baseball game on any given night.
And that's the beauty of baseball. On any given night, any team can win. It's not football where the bigger, stronger, faster. It's a game of details and LSU is so good and their arms are elite and these guys did a good job.
I really think guys -- us facing Eyanson on the -- if I pronounce it incorrectly, if I mispronounce it I apologize, on game number one, even though he had an outstanding outing, it helped our guys realize the timing that we were going to need to get onto to see this level of arms. We do train for it with different things, how to hit velocity, stay on top of it, things like that. But you got to see it and you have to see it in the biggest moment.
I think you can't simulate the crowd. Malcolm had a huge moment there, was out bases loaded? We were having a little trouble hearing in the pitch comm and Malcolm gets a popup. That was huge. The more they see it -- DBU, they were running out some guys with big arms. But the more tall see it, the more they're able to get on time.
Q. Coach, your players kind of spoke to this. They're not here just to experience things, they're here to win and obviously you guys carry that mentality.
Can you just talk about from -- regardless of what happens tomorrow, what does this do from an exposure for your program, for these guys and just at this level to be able to do what you guys have done so far?
CHRIS CURRY: It's priceless. It puts -- in my opinion, I hope it puts Little Rock baseball on the map nationally, just from a respect standpoint. I hope it helps recruiting. I hope it helps -- does the portal open tomorrow? Is it already open? We're interested.
I hope it helps the university. I hope people are proud. Our supporters, they've gotten us here and this is what can happen when people believe in you. This is what can happen when you have players that believe and to be nine innings away from a regional championship and going onto a super is a special place and we're just going to enjoy it and then at 8:00 tomorrow night, we're going to go out there and get after it and see what happens.
Q. Yeah, Coach, you guys found yourselves in tough spots on the mound all night in terms of loading the bases. What was the key for y'all to continue to get out of those jams and avoid the crooked number?
CHRIS CURRY: Our pitchers made quality pitches. Good question. We located -- you know, Brady Cox is our pitching coach and was asked to help some guys who haven't thrown in a while, maybe a little rusty that we haven't called their name and I taught he really navigated LSU's lineup well just from an adding and subtracting, mixing and matching the looks. We tried to make sure if we could that nobody got a look at our arms twice and then we kind of let the pitcher for us and their hitters tell us when it was time to make a change.
I think our guys made big pitches. Some change-ups behind the count. I know we threw a lot of 2-2, 3-2 sliders that were big pitches and Malcolm has always been a strike thrower. He started the game as a true freshman at Ole Miss. Malcolm's been on big stages and, again, he's just been through so much in his life, tonight is not going to speed him up. That's the toughest dude maybe on the team.
Q. Coach, you guys were kind of in LSU's position last year in your conference tournament, right? You had the great season, the pressure was kind oh of on you. Now obviously the script is flipped. How difficult is that going against a team like yourselves in this position where you have all the momentum and things are rolling at the right time.
CHRIS CURRY: Okay. I'm tracking with you now. Yes, we were the one seed after winning the regular season -- is that what you're referring to? Yes. So last year I had 15 seniors. We had the pitcher of the year. We had four or five all-conference players. That was kind of "the" team, and I'm forever grateful for the 2024 team for winning I believe our first regular season championship last year, knocking that wall down.
But it did feel with that team, and I love those guys and four or five of them are here cheering us on but it did feel like when we got to the tournament last year, there was a heavy weight on our shoulders of us expecting to win and get to a regional and now this team, highly improbable, they're just playing loose and care-free and I know 100% for the way our league is set up we have to win the tournament, obviously I would rather win the tournament all day than a regular season to get to go on this ride.
Q. You mentioned the job Brady did, the job that is now ahead of him once again, right? How are you set up? And how much does that conference tournament make some things happen for you guys now?
CHRIS CURRY: Conference tournament is what triggered it because back to Jackson Wells, complete game and I won't walk us through that again but that's what triggered it.
Then you have Brody Bunting seven innings. Then you had Jack Cline, nine innings in the championship. So even though we played five games in four days, through that OVC tournament, we with did not tax our arms at a high level. Royal, the lefty, he threw twice. Van Cleve, he threw twice in the OVC and we've been able to manage the arms to where actually tomorrow I feel like that we're in a little bit better place pitching-wise because we might get an arm or two or three back for tomorrow that we were able to rest.
So, hey, championship game, all hands-on deck. I have got players coming up to me right and left, coach, I'm good. Coach, I'm ready. Yeah. Everybody's good to go tomorrow.
Q. Are they going to have clean uniforms tomorrow? New uniforms?
CHRIS CURRY: No! Let's be a bunch of dirt bags. We thought about going back to the hotel. They offered a police escort and getting a shower and fresh -- no. No chance. I think they would have probably tackled me in the dugout or just a mutiny and sat down on the bench around said we're not leaving.
I've heard, can you guys confirm, I think we're the home team. Is that how it works.
THE MODERATOR: Yes, sir.
CHRIS CURRY: Okay. So safe bet we're probably going to wear pinstripes, white pinstripes over white and it'll be fun.
Q. And where did you first hear that hold the rope story? Because I got one here, I was just wondering if that was it.
CHRIS CURRY: Say that again.
Q. There's one here. They use the hold the rope here. I was wondering if you heard it from Skip Bertman or...
CHRIS CURRY: Absolutely. Absolutely. Guys, that's not my saying, but they're so young, they should know Coach Bertman but they don't. (Laughter). Angel is learning, okay?
Actually, this morning at 10:00 a.m., it was on ESPNU, and I sent a group message to the team saying turn it on ESPNU! Hold the rope is on. No, I'm a 90s college baseball player and I watched Warren Morris win the ball game live and Joey Core laying on the ground. I know all the players.
I competed against Coach Bertman, he recruited me a little bit and was very, very familiar with the mental said of things. Coach was cutting-edge in the psychology of baseball and hold the rope, I was very, very familiar with what coach said and all coaches do is steal from other coaches and bar row sayings with what works and I think -- I don't know, about a week before the tournament we started saying it but I did give credit to Coach Bertman to the team and I actually saw Coach last night when I came to watch LSU and the Dallas Baptists and I told him I stole your line, but I know it's yours. He said you use it all you need to use it.
I know where it came from and I could not have more respect for Coach Bertman but he won a lot of games so that's a pretty good guy to borrow a phrase from.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, congratulations. Thank you for your time.
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