2021 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 30, 2021

Will Bednar

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Postgame Press Conference

Mississippi State - 9, Vanderbilt - 0

Q. What's it like to be a national champion, and what's it like to play for your coach?

WILL BEDNAR: It's the greatest feeling ever to be a national champion, especially this group of guys. We worked so hard to get here. This is awesome. It's unbelievable.

Q. Looks like the effects of three days' rest might have been there from the control standpoint. But you just kept gritting out those innings and then you were able to kind of pitch to contact, let your defense play behind you. How were you feeling out there and what did that performance feel like to put up zero runs in six innings like you did?

WILL BEDNAR: It was awesome. It was incredible. Obviously those first two innings were a little shaky, but I was able to get into a groove there, really let my defense play behind me. We've got a lot of studs back there. So I might as well let them hit the ball. And it was good. It was good to be out there, and I got just a little tired there at the end. But it was awesome.

Q. Has it set in to you just how well you pitched these last two innings to deliver your team a championship? I know you have the Most Outstanding trophy hardware, but that was a legendary performance you just pulled out.

WILL BEDNAR: It hasn't really set in. I just kind of went out there treated it like every other outing, to be honest with you. So I just kind of treated it like it was any other game, and just kind of rolled with it.

Q. Could you describe the bargaining or whatever it is that went through as you were trying to pitch another inning, both in I think the sixth and the seventh?

WILL BEDNAR: It was just kind of back and forth talking about how I felt and the pitch count and just that kind of stuff. It wasn't really any crazy bargaining, it was just me telling him how I felt and how everything was feeling.

Q. Obviously a big day coming up, down the line later next month. I guess that decision will come. But if this is your last day at Mississippi State, what's it meant to pitch here and to close it out like this?

WILL BEDNAR: It means the world. I mean, Mississippi State baseball fans deserve it. We have the greatest fans in the world. And they've been supporting us from day one. It's awesome to be able to deliver that to them.

Q. Did you give any guff to Landon for not finishing off the no-hitter?

WILL BEDNAR: No, not really. I'm sure I'll probably bust his chops tomorrow. But we won the national championship. I don't really care all that much. I really couldn't care less about that right now; I'm on cloud nine.

Q. What's the feeling like when your teammates are kind of giving you the hugs and the high-fives in the dugout after your performance, you know your day is done? Do you allow yourself to reflect at all in that moment, or I guess do you remember sort of what you were thinking then?

WILL BEDNAR: Yeah, I mean, it's awesome to have their support. I've got some awesome teammates but right after that I was kind of right back in blocking out, trying to support Landon. I'm probably one of Landon's biggest supporters. We're boys, we push each other. I'm always just top step, just going crazy for him.

Q. What was it like going through the dog pile? Where were you in there on the celebration? And being named MVP, what's that moment like for you?

WILL BEDNAR: So the dog pile, I just try to stay as far away from the bottom as I could. I haven't been in the bottom yet. I really don't plan on being at the bottom. I was kind of on the outer edge, just jumping around. But I try to stay far away from the bottom.

And then the MVP was unreal. I didn't really expect it, to be honest. But that was just a surreal feeling to get that.