NCAA Super Regional: Game Two Quotes
5/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 29, 2011
Missouri Head Coach Ehren Earleywine
Opening Statement...
“Well, I'm just really proud and happy that we get an opportunity to go back to Oklahoma City. I'm proud of the girls for continuing to fight even though they didn't have a coach anymore. They played really well, not perfect, but well enough to win. I thought my assistant coaches did a good job of taking the game over and making some moves. We are just really happy to be going back to Oklahoma City again.”
On having to watch the game on television...
“It was really torturous watching from the team room. There was a five second delay, you would hear the cheering or booing, and then five seconds later it would happen. It was so painful to watch in there, it was really, really hard. I guess I deserved it.”
On why he got thrown out...
“I objected with the call and I was heated in the moment. He did what he had to do, I think he felt like he made the right call. I just want to try to focus on the positives on today instead of my mistake.”
On Chelsea Thomas' performance in the game...
“You give Chelsea Thomas five runs in the first inning and you can pretty much book it. She ended up giving up three runs in the game and probably didn't pitch her best softball, but God love her she just kept competing. It looked like she got settled in, later in the game, about the second half of the fifth inning, and she was really effective in the last two innings. I know Chelsea so well, and I know she doesn't consider this a great outing. When she doesn't have a great outing she is bound and determined to do better in her next outing, and that's the nice thing leading into the College World Series with her, a thorn in her saddle. She is fantastic, even when they got a few runs and things weren't quite going our way she got a couple big striekouts and I thought that was a game-changer right there.”
On the team heading into the College World Series...
“Well, we have most of the kids returning, Gina Schneider was really the only kid from last year's team that wasn't on this year's team. You bring a certain level of experience and poise with you into the World Series with you now and a certain level of frustration and resolve from what we have not done in the past. They are a very determined group, they are a very talented group and they are a year smarter than they were last year. For some of these kids, this is their third World Series appearance so I expect a good showing. We certainly have a very difficult matchup right out of the shoot. Florida is arguably the best hitting team in the country. We will have time to prepare for them and I think it will be a good match up. For now, we are just going to enjoy the Super Regional Championship at least for the rest of the night tonight.”
Mizzou Player Quotes
Chelsea Thomas
On going to the College World Series...
“It feels great. There was no doubt in my mind that we would make it back. This time when we get back there we are going to do some damage.”
On the team's feelings when Coach Earleywine gets thrown out...
“When he gets thrown out it's like he is fighting for us, he has our backs. We get kind of pumped up actually. ”
On setting the tone in the first inning...
“They jumped out ahead five to nothing, and that takes a lot of the pressure off. I got to take some time to settle in, and when we get a run in the first inning, let alone five, I know we are going to win.”
On already having one win under her belt...
“It's always great to have the first one under your belt, but there was no doubt in my mind ever throughout the game, even when there were runners on, that we were going to win the game.”
On adjustments made by Washington tonight...
“They're a good team, and I knew they were going to make adjustments. I had a rough time in a couple innings getting behind in the count. When I get behind in the count I think that's when I give up hits, so that's my fault. I think if I would have been better at that the hits would have been cut in half.”
On her pitch of the night...
“We were mixing it up a lot tonight, nothing was really outstanding. My changeup was a little low and I didn't get it called for a strike a lot. That was a little upsetting but we had to push through and keep mixing and try to keep them off balance.”
Rhea Taylor
On Washington scoring three runs...
“I knew we were going to win from the moment they stepped on the field. Of course they were going to score some runs but we all have confidence in each other so there is no way we were going to lose that game.”
Lisa Simmons
On her home run...
“I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Bradley, right before I went up to bat when I was standing in the box, he told me, 'Lisa, put the first pitch in. Get on time.' It was inside, right where I wanted it. That's what she was throwing me all day yesterday and I knew it was coming. It just happened to work out as a home run, I wasn't trying to hit a home run.”
Washington Head Coach Heather Tarr
Opening Statement...
“Well, first of all, if you would have told me what we were going to go through this entire year as a team, just within our own team, lots of adversity and lots of different things happened within our inner circle, I probably woud have been proud that we had gotten to this point. Knowing what it feels like to advance, to go to the world series, to go to the national championship, anything less than that is a disappointment, but we have no regrets and our senior class developed into some great leaders and they were the reason why we got to where we got at this point. I just want to thank them for all they did this year.”
On the team's early errors...
“Obviously we put ourselves in a huge hole after the first inning, but we don't ever think we give anything away. We get what we get, we caused all of those things. Yeah, those are gimmes in the book, but we tried to dig out of the hole and there is no better team to try to dig out of the hole against that team than our team. We fought our way back.”
On today's game compared to the rest of their season...
“It's hard to compare because we have done some weird things this year. We have come back from weird situations, we have won on a walk-off home run against Jolene Henderson of Cal which was a big win for us. I would say, unfortunately we never want to dig a hole five runs deep in the first inning, but there is no better team to chip away at that situation than our team. It was a good game, well fought, and I thought we had control of it after the first inning. ”
On advice to Missouri at the College World Series...
“Do what you do. Everybody else around you tries to change the game and make it be bigger than what it is, but you have got to play your game.”
Washington Player Quotes
Morgan Stuart
On adjustments made at the plate...
“I saw less changeups. For me it was all about just getting on time. With how we were in a hole it was about just making good quality swings on the pitches that you could handle. We had more information, like Coach Tarr said, so we had different approaches than we had yesterday. It's just all about more information for us, our team functions well on more information.”
On how she saw the controversial foul ball...
“It was very spinny, I was late to get it so I wasn't going to throw her out, so the only play was to catch it in foul territory.”
Jenn Salling
On her mindset at bat after the team was down 5 runs...
“Just to chip away, chip away, chip away and whoever is at the plate to lead your team. Hitting is contagious, hits are contagious.”
On the team's morale after scoring three runs in the fifth inning...
“The energy was there, but I think it was there the whole game. In our minds we never thought we were going to lose. I thought that we fought, and fought, and fought to the bitter end. It wasn't the result we wanted, but overall our team fights.”
