As the No. 8 seed, the Bulls face No. 1-seeded Notre Dame on Tuesday at 8 p.m at Bright House Networks Field.
Turns out, if the Bulls had lost, they would have been in anyways as Georgetown, without its senior class, pulled a win over Pittsburgh. Cassidy and LeRoy both spoke of the good feeling the win was and how it felt good to get one for coach Eddie Cardieri, which could very be his last for USF.
Cassidy and LeRoy both said Cardieri, however, never once mentioned any articles or talks of not renewing his contract as motivation for wins this weekend. Cardieri, as well as his two players, said they went against WVU to save their chances for the postseason, not to save the 21-year coach's career.
LeRoy and Cassidy, whose home runs were both the first of their careers, mentioned they did read the articles, but also said the atmosphere on the team the past three to four days has been very quiet and focused.
I spoke with Cardieri when some of the accusations were made public, and while I can't repeat many of the things we spoke about, he was in a very down mood. Now I'm not going to be a Cardieri apologist, defending his every action, but after speaking with him just an hour after the game, he spirits did seem a little higher. It sounds as though some of his optimism might be returning, something he claims he "needs in his life."
I asked Cardieri if he thought the tournament berth had secured his job for next season. While he claimed he didn't know “because it's still up to Doug (Woolard),” he also said Wednesday he doesn't know what it would take to keep his job. Not just one win in the tournament, or a regional berth — he just doesn't know for certain.
“I would like another chance,” Cardieri said. “If you don't want me, fine and dandy. Right now, though, I'm going to do my job, and the rest will be in God's hands.”
Mike Camunas
No comments:
Post a Comment