May 20, 2011
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2011 NCAA KNOXVILLE SOFTBALL REGIONAL
MAY 20 * GAME 1 QUOTES
GEORGIA TECH VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
OKLAHOMA STATE HEAD COACH RICH WIELIGMAN Opening statement: “We talked about playing the whole game and not getting down on each other. I’ll tell you what, we had it together today. We gave up that one run but we didn’t step back or feel sorry for ourselves–we kept playing and we battled. I’m really proud of them.”
On the level of difficulty in this regional: “This is probably one of the more difficult regionals we’ve played in. As far as the top three teams, I’m not sure what the difference is as far as separation goes but I think it’s a good challenge. With the conference that we’ve played in and the things we faced in league play–I think it’s prepared us for these types of battles.”
On Julie Ward’s last at-bat and walk-off single: “With the at-bat she was having–she just had to keep battling and fouling off. The pitcher has to keep pitching. I think whoever wills the ball in those types of at-bats is the one that wins. She never gave up and finally she dropped one in. I think that was huge. (Georgia Tech pitcher Lindsey Anderson) didn’t give us many pitches all day, so to get that hit in that situation was just huge.”
On Kat Espinosa’s day in the circle: “I think she threw both sides of the plate really well and did a good job of staying ahead. They were swinging early in the count, and that helps, but she did a good job throwing to both sides of the plate. She worked some change-ups in there that were really good and threw them off. When you can make the batter have that change-up in the back of their mind, that helps, too.”
On possibility of facing Tennessee this weekend: “I think the tradition (Tennessee co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly) has built here speaks for itself. They’ve been to the World Series recently. They come out and play ball. Sometimes when you get into these situations, you get caught up in who you’re playing and the tradition of a program like Tennessee. But you still have to catch and throw and get those timely hits and that’s what it comes down to. You put two good pitchers in the circle and then you play defense and hit. It’s going to be a tough test. They’re coming off an SEC Tournament win so they’re feeling good about themselves. They’ve got good pitching, they can hit–they’re a well-rounded team.”
OKLAHOMA STATE PITCHER KAT ESPINOSA On her day in the circle: “I feel like we were in the zone–a lot more than we have been. Obviously, I thought we wanted it more. I just focus on one pitch at a time and try to hit my spots.”
OKLAHOMA STATE FIRST BASEMAN JULIE WARD On last at-bat walk-off single: “I took it pitch-by-pitch. I had two strikes going for the longest time. I knew they’d try to tease me out but also jam me in, so I just had to stay focused to poke one just like I did, so it worked out well.”
On importance of the win: “The first game really sets the tone so it’s good to get the win and set the tone for the weekend. But you can’t stop playing at any point. Even if we had lost we weren’t going to give up.”
GEORGIA TECH HEAD COACH Sharon Perkins Opening statement: “It was definitely a hard fought game by both teams. I think it was very well played. There were some really tough at-bats. We put a lot of balls in play but just didn’t catch any breaks.”
On the decision to send Lindsey Anderson to the circle against Oklahoma State: “(Oklahoma State showed a tendency to have) long swings. So I figured she could jam them. And I thought she kept them off-balance the entire game. That’s a good hitting team; they swing the bat really well. So for her to come in and dominate like she did for the majority of the game, I was super impressed with her. I think that’s the best she’s pitched all year. That’s a good hitting team.”
On how her team’s injuries affected her lineup: “We have a couple people out of position (due to injuries). We made the decision to give us our best opportunity offensively, so we put Caitlin (Jordan) out there. She’s done a great job. The goal for her was to make the routine plays, and they just put it in-between us. You can’t cover all the territory.”
On whether or not she anticipated such a closely contested game: “Actually I thought we’d come out swinging the bat a little bit better. I thought we’d put more runs on the board. We just didn’t do that. We had some really good at-bats. We put the ball in play really hard a lot of times, and it just didn’t get through.”
On Oklahoma State’s offensive characteristics: “Their lefties can swing away, and they slap, so they do their best to keep you off-balance. They’re well coached, and they just get out there and play their game. Keeping the defense off-balance is part of that.”
GEORGIA TECH PITCHER Lindsey Anderson On what she took from the Oklahoma State game: “I think (this game) taught me that I can definitely hang with the big teams and hang in regionals. Even if I get caught in tough jams, I still have stuff I can come back with and fight for my team. So it definitely helps my confidence a little bit. But overall it makes me want to fight so I don’t get in those jams in the future.”
On the 10-second call in the bottom of the seventh inning: “I don’t really time it that much. We had a little signal miscommunication between me and the catcher, so that might have pushed it an extra second or two and made the umpire call it. But it didn’t feel that much longer than any of the other times I’ve been on the mound.”
GEORGIA TECH FIRST BASEMAN Kristine Priebe On Oklahoma State pitcher Kat Espinosa: “I think we have to come out focusing on each pitcher and finding which pitch we can individually find as a good pitch to hit. And we probably could have chosen some better pitches today. But I think we can still hit it hard, and just because we’re not hitting home runs doesn’t mean we’re not a good hitting team.”
On what Espinosa had working for her: “I think it was a mix of things. I don’t think she had one pitch that was real dominant. She just had a good mix of pitches.”
On teammate Lindsey Anderson’s pitching performance: “This is a very fighting team, and Lindsey’s fought hard all season. All the games we’ve played so far, she’s come out of so many jams. It’s great to see her leadership out there, especially in postseason.”
