May 22, 2010

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Illinois Head Coach Terri Sullivan
Opening Statement:
"I think pitchers on both sides did a fairly decent job today, but Missouri was just a little bit better at everything today. At the end of the game, they executed very well. They got timely hits and played really well down the stretch. You have to give a lot of credit to Missouri's pitcher. They kept us in check and every time it seemed like we got a little bit of momentum, they found a way to get that last out. Since its double elimination you always have an insurance policy in case you lose, so we'll regroup and come out and play the next game and see if we can pull out a win. We know that the team we're going to play is going to be at their best so were going to have to match that."

Illinois Catcher Audrey Gallien
On preparing to face Missouri Pitcher Kristin Nottleman:
"We watched film a little bit and coach really gives us a lot of background information on the pitchers we'll, face so I think we were more than prepared. She got us chasing on a lot of her pitches. It felt like we were getting good contact on the ball, but we just were just hitting it where their players were. We couldn't hit anything in the gaps. It's a big outfield so we were trying to get some more balls out there, but we couldn't do that.'

Missouri Head Coach Ehren Earlywine
Opening Statement:
"Well today was Kristin Nottleman's day. I thought she was the MVP for sure. She pitched with a lot of courage and a lot of confidence. The pitch count was high but she finished strong. I'm very, very proud of her, and as you guys know pitching and defense is what wins championships. In this case, it's what's going to get us to the championship. The game plan that we had going in to the game was to try to score first. Obviously you're saying, 'well wouldn't anyone want to score first?' but just for our girls to have the focus and the conscious effort to do that [was important]. I felt like Illinois is a team that plays with a lot of confidence and is fueled by getting out early. I thought we did a good job of getting out in front, but after that it was just a grind. It was a pitchers duel from that point forward. I'm proud of our girls, and I'm glad we have the opportunity to rest for the rest of the day. We'll let the rest of these teams play in the heat, and hopefully that will play in our favor for tomorrow."

On Nottleman's performance:
"There were several times throughout that game where I saw her take a deep breath and let it out, and usually that's a sign of nerves, kids trying to settle themselves down. Kristin, historically, has been a kid who hasn't been as courageous as she'd like to be. She's not a kid who pitches with as much confidence as she deserves to pitch with. When she took those deep breaths several times throughout the game, it's a concerning thing to see that because you know she's trying to settle herself down. Whether she was nervous or not nervous, she did manage to pitch her way out of every jam she was in today. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you're nervous, not nervous, or somewhere in between, if you throw up zeros across the board for six innings you've done a heck of a job."

Missouri Pitcher Kristin Nottleman
On her performance:
"They're a good hitting team so I expected to give up some hits but I still had to keep on my game and hit my spots, and if they got a runner on just make sure they don't come around and score. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good. I feel like everything's starting to click right at the right time."