2025 MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 13, 2025

Mitch Canham

Wilson Weber

Dax Whitney

Gavin Turley

Oregon State Beavers

Postgame Press Conference

Oregon State - 4, Louisville - 3

MITCH CANHAM: Proud of the way the guys punched back. It seems to be more and more evident, this is true character by the way our guys continue to fight. Both pitchers, outstanding out the gate. And very difficult at-bats. So very tight ball game. Those are the ones that you want to have because you know it brings out true character in guys.

Even after the ninth inning excitement, to turn around, get back in the dugout and watch how these guys interacted with one another and showed true faith. And the guy who was going up to the plate, the guy behind him, the guy next to him, up and down the dugout, it's, like, sweet, this is how it's supposed to be for us.

This is what we thrive in. We thrive in difficult situations, and I'm proud of the way they responded. But up and down just -- favorite play of the game for me, and there were many, I'll just say hard-hit ball at Aiva Arquette and he wears it off his belly, he's throwing his body in front of it and he didn't side-straddle it and let it go by.

Again, it shows the type of guys we have here. And I'm proud of them for putting their body on the line. Gavin trying to make a spectacular play there, knowing if the guy is on second or third, no big deal, but he laid out. He put his heart on the sleeve gave his best for the guys.

I'm proud of each of them for playing with real heart and grit, especially on a platform like this.

Q. Gavin, I asked you this question yesterday. What a way to break your coach's career RBI record in the postseason. Can you talk about the moment and the jubilation that you felt with your teammates on the field?

GAVIN TURLEY: Yeah, it was awesome. I thought I broke it the first RBI of the game, though. Is that wrong? Because I went over -- I gave it to him. Yeah.

MITCH CANHAM: Shocker, right?

GAVIN TURLEY: That moment was awesome. Just happy to do it for the guys.

Q. Wilson, catching Dax tonight, seemed like everything you guys were calling was working. Was there anything special tonight? I know we talked a little bit earlier about the shadows going on. Talk about how Dax was working the zone today.

WILSON WEBER: Just coming out of the gate, hitting spots and locating heaters and also landing offspeed when you need to. But it's also very complicated.

It's really fun back there when Dax is locating and doing his job because it's fun.

Q. Gavin, you mentioned breaking your coach's RBI record, but have you seen any footage of him playing here in Omaha?

GAVIN TURLEY: I've seen a little bit, yeah.

MITCH CANHAM: Nothing to inspire him as far as the catching goes.

GAVIN TURLEY: More the rapping inspires us.

MITCH CANHAM: That's good. Appreciate that. Keep the questions that way.

Q. Dax, last week the pitch count climbed up. I think you were up around 97 over four and two-thirds. Today you were really efficient, obviously through the first three innings and even as your start went on. Could you talk about the feel you had for your pitches, the curveball in particular, and how you were able to manage at-bats a bit better?

DAX WHITNEY: Just going out, trying to establish the fastball early. The goal today was fill up the zone, don't walk. That's what I've been working on -- don't walk guys, don't give them free bases.

Establish the heater early and they weren't doing too well on the curveball early. I kept spinning that thing over and over. I felt like I could throw it any count. It made it pretty easy.

Also, after the first inning, Trent comes up and he like, you can't see anything at the plate right now. I was, all right, I'll just keep throwing more curveballs then.

Q. Gavin, after the top of the inning, things don't go your way. What were the conversations like in the dugout heading into your at-bats that kind of gave you the confidence to be able to come back and have that offensive performance in order to win the game and avoid elimination bracket that I know guys are very familiar with?

GAVIN TURLEY: It was cool because it's the same thing every at-bat for us. It's go up there and compete and try to hit the ball hard. Knowing that we had the top of the lineup up I know we had a real shot to do something dangerous.

As soon as Aiva got on, it opened a lot of possibilities up with a runner on first.

Just get in there and try to get a good pitch to hit and hit it hard and let the game play itself out.

Q. Dax, I know we talked a lot in the preseason about the reasons for coming here. This has to be, like, the reason why you wanted to come to Oregon State, to get that kind of start on this kind of night and perform like that, right?

DAX WHITNEY: Absolutely. This is the exact thing I had in mind when I made the decision to come to Oregon State. It's kind of beautiful to see it all come to fruition here. I wouldn't want to be doing it with any other group of guys.

Q. Gavin and Wilson, you mentioned the shadows. Felt like the second time through the lineup you had much more competitive at-bats, fouling pitches off. Is it really as black and white as the shadows getting better or was there a change in the approach?

WILSON WEBER: I'd say it's definitely real for sure, but even like the second time through you know what you're going to see. And it is a little bit better, but it's just kind of understanding and having a different approach by just kind of almost two-strike type thought, like, I'm going to get something in the zone and hit it rather than trying to do damage too early.

GAVIN TURLEY: Yeah, I think the shadows definitely play a part of it. But everyone's got to deal with them. So knowing that, just see the ball a little deeper and compete even harder.

Q. Wilson, knowing how familiar you guys are with the elimination bracket, knowing how hard it is to come back and be successful in the elimination bracket, when your back's against the wall, I know that's the feeling that you guys are used to, but how important was it and was there a sigh of relief kind of when you saw Gavin hit that ball and you saw Aiva be safe at home plate? Was there a sense of relief knowing you guys did avoid an elimination bracket off the first game? And what does that mean?

WILSON WEBER: Honestly it wasn't going through my head in the moment at all. But it definitely is nice to not have to go through that from the get-go. But it's just kind of goes to show that we're not out of it until the last out. Even if they did put up even two more runs that inning, we still probably would have done what we did and came back and won it. That's kind of how I saw it.

Q. Can you talk about the maturity you saw from Dax on the mound today, especially being a freshman pitching game one in the biggest stage in college baseball?

MITCH CANHAM: Yeah, I think the moment obviously highlights that even more. But how he's gone about his work all year, I wasn't surprised to see that. Playing in front of 25,000 people, national television, the greatest show on dirt.

Like he said, he's been dreaming about that before he got here. So this wasn't his first time stepping on that stage.

Each of those guys have visualized it. When they work with Zak Taylor doing our mental skills and visualizations, that's part of it is putting yourself in that arena in those big moments, facing the other seven best teams in the country.

So I personally wasn't shocked. I was calm knowing he was going out there and competing because I know what he's put himself through. And even watching his bullpens or anything else, he works at such a high level of intensity that it wasn't shocking, I don't think, for any of us.

Q. You played here as a player, but, first of all, what does it mean to you to be back here for the first time as a coach? And then what is different about the experience leading the team instead of playing for it?

MITCH CANHAM: I wouldn't say I'm leading the team. I think these guys are doing that themselves. There's leadership all around them. Sometimes it's just smart to get out of their way and let them go about their business.

We work extremely hard in practice all the time. And the games are for them to go out and let loose and show their talents.

So a lot of times you put together a game plan. Gibson does a great job coordinating with our hitters, making sure they have a great plan of attack, and the second time through, just the small things about how we're going to shorten up and see the ball.

Each pitch we see gives us more of an advantage as the game goes on. Dax said it too, I don't want to walk guys. The more pitches they see, it makes it harder on the bullpen.

So like being here is more fulfilling than being here as a player, I think, because I get to watch so many other people have joy and turn around and look at Beaver Nation supporting us the entirety of the way and watching these guys just glow.

You don't necessarily see that as a player. You're with the guys and enjoying it. But now when you're playing, you're out there busting your butt and sweating it out pretty good, but right now you get to sit back and get to watch Aiva Arquette's joy, and you get to watch each of those guys competing and coming back and communicating with each other even more.

The joy is double of what it was as a player, and those were amazing times that still bring back -- you've got to choke back tears when you watch highlights of it from way back when. It was black and white, but I still watch them. (Laughter).

Q. Building off of that, pretty well documented Pat Casey was here tonight, ESPN was all over that. But when you think about the memories of that time that you just mentioned and just being around Casey as a head coach at that time, and when you're in a game like this, topsy-turvy what do you think about those moments that Casey might have done back then and how has he remained a mentor for you?

MITCH CANHAM: It was awesome to see him. Saw him when we got back to the hotel after doing some interviews, saw him and his wife rolling out of the hotel. Definitely got a big hug. Excited that he's here. I didn't expect to see him on the Jumbotron either. I know that's not his cup of tea to be in that situation.

But tremendous mentor. Always has been. Always will be. If anything, what I've learned from my wife, Coach Casey and every other mentor that I've had and special person in my life, those moments you start to feel a little sped up, I actually felt a sense of calm come over me and just trying to stick with the process of what situations we have at hand, what could possibly come up and being prepared, trusting your gut, but also having strong faith in being around people that are like strong in their faith as well. Allows you to be calm because at no point are you alone. You always have them with you.

Not only that, do I have Jesus with me? I've got all the guys in the clubhouse with me and all of Beaver Nation. So how would I ever feel overwhelmed or nervous when I have that, all of that with me. And that's a very powerful thing, and I'm grateful for that.

As I've grown older, I think it's helping me with my longevity of life instead of stressing out all the time.

Q. Gavin and Aiva both had defensive miscues at the top of the ninth, and then immediately flushed it and had fantastic at-bats. What's that say about the resiliency of this team? And did that cross your mind when Aiva had the error that he was coming up the second inning?

MITCH CANHAM: I knew prior to that -- usually, the seventh inning, I was already trying to get an idea what was going to happen in the eighth, where we were at in the ninth, so if we could press on the bases a little bit more. You want to make sure you're not cutting your outs short, coming up for that possible ninth inning if something does happen.

It mitigates a little bit of risk that we're going to take earlier on. But knowing those guys were there, that's where a ball gets to the fence -- we're talking about, I look all around the field and I'm looking at Gold Glovers. Those guys steal the heck out of bases. We have a good time to the plate. Wilson throws a dart to second, puts on a great tag.

We're in a good spot, no one's on base. Okay, they get another hit. And the ball gets kicked around a bit here and there.

But the worst thing you can do is panic. You've got to take a breath. Even if the game's tied, we still get to hit and we're in a great spot in our order.

When I say a great spot in our order, it's our turn to hit. That's always a good spot to be in. How these guys work day in, day out, that gives me that confidence in those moments.

I know if I'm not feeling confident, it's going to spread to the rest of the guys. So you're constantly looking at the lineup card and looking at the guys and you're breathing that positivity into existence.

So Aiva Arquette made, what, four errors all year? He was trying to make a really immaculate play for the guys. AJ Singer has made one error all year. He's a magician with the glove. Our guys work extremely hard. Sometimes those things are going to happen. I'm not surprised but also very proud of how they responded to each of the things that happened.

Isn't that how it always works out? There's a miscue and that guy wins the game or whatever. But Gavin did the right thing going after the ball right there. It didn't matter if he missed it or not. It was going to be a hit. So might as well try to take one away when you've got a two-run lead.