GAME SIX ASU 9, OLE MISS 0
ARIZONA STATE
Coach Trisha Ford
Opening Statement… “I don’t really have a lot of words and they will tell you that I always have words. Just so proud of them tonight. They came out focused. They were on a mission. Pitching, defense, and offensively all facets of our game were rolling. They were like a well-oiled machine tonight. Just really proud of them. This is the first time they have been in a regional championship game. Obviously, regional championship game at home. I though our fans were electric tonight and we are happy that we are continuing on and get to stay home.”
On being able to jump on the Rebels early… “I just think that they did a great job of executing their plans. I think we came out when we did warm ups today, I asked a couple of them because they were really quiet and they said ‘We are focused’. You could see it in their eyes and I was like ‘Alright, I like this’. I enjoyed it. I just enjoyed watching them compete. I think that is the type of team I love to coach. They competed their butts off. Our baserunning, our short game, we really took advantage of every opportunity. I was happy.”
On if she saw something in the defense that allowed for more small ball… “Yes and no. I just think that we are capable of it and Coach (Carly) Wynn does a great job with our bunters. They will tell you that we practice a lot of bunting and baserunning. She does a great job. I know it is a facet of our game that we can exploit anybody when we are running with our heads up and putting the ball in the ground and moving runners. I think that we executed and it was really neat for them to see that kind of all come into play tonight. How about Gibby (Danielle Gibson) drag bunting? She is like a giraffe running.
On Danielle Gibson’s health… “She is fine. Today she had some great at bats and played some great first base for us. We wanted to get Bella (Loomis) some innings as the game went on and get Stank (Marisa Stankiewicz some work at first. We had that luxury to be able to do that. She is coming along fine. She is freshman, she has not been through this before, and she is enjoying every minute. We are fortunate to have her.”
G Juarez
On what it is like when both pitchers can get in the game during a win… “I think it is fun because we are polar opposites in the way we pitch. I came out to her when I heard she was going in and said ‘You just have to have my back, we can do it’. We are complete opposites it is funny to see me, who is a rise ball pitcher, and see her, who is a complete down-baller.”
Breanna Macha
On what it is like when both pitchers can get in the game during a win … “The same thing happened in the Cal series. We both go up to one and other and say ‘I have your back’. It is going to be a long season and I just think that we have grown with our relationship and it is only going to grow from here. We are excited.”
On what the pitching duo is capable of in the Super Regional… “At the beginning of the year I said single handily, Giselle Juarez can take us to a national championship. I said that from day one. I just think it goes to show the confidence that our entire pitching staff our entire team has in her. We are ready to go."
G Juarez
On what the pitching duo is capable of in the Super Regional… “Honestly, I can’t do it without her. She does have my back and I have complete faith in that and in all our staff. I love her and I love the way our relationship has grown. We have complete faith in one and other, but we are still competing for the same spot and I don’t think many staffs have that. To where they can compete against each other, but they can still want the best for each other.”
Breanna Macha
On the step forward they each can take in the Super Regional… “Coach (Ford) says it best, preparation is the key to success and I always say that. Just having a good week of preparation this week. When we prepare, I don’t think a lot of teams can beat us. I think we will be ready.”
Jade Gortarez
On the defense backing up an outstanding pitching staff… “I think our defense, especially our infield and our outfield, put in a lot of work. Especially separate work. Our infield is insane. We get everything done and at this point in the season we are really just talking with each other and coaching up each other. It is just little things that I am being picky about or Marisa (Stankiewicz) and even Taylor (Becerra). We are constantly talking to each other and the outfield. The outfield puts in the most work. Especially balls off the wall, we are always working after practice. Our defense as a whole, we are one of the best in the Pac.”
On what it would mean to advance past the Super Regional and play for a championship… “We set our goal for this season. It was to finish in the Top-3 in the Pac, host a regional, and try to host a Super. Everything is just coming together at this point. We all believe in one and other.”
On how it feels to be playing this good at this particular time of the season… “This is the time to start getting up to our peak and I still don’t believe that we are there yet. By the time of next weekend and Oklahoma if we make it further, we are going to be playing our best ball that we have all year.”
Jade Gortarez
On if the defense feeds off of the good pitching…“I would agree with that. Bree’s a competitor
and she’s crazy on the mound. She’s a lot like me so we get along. We get along great. G’s just
the opposite, she does her own thing and we’re there having her back and supporting her. G
smiles and Bree’s the fun one.”
G Juarez
On how they were feeling after the first inning…“Electric. That’s the only word to describe it, electric. Pumped up and ready to finish the game.”
Jade Gortarez
On how they were feeling after the first inning… “Seeing Gibby put down that bunt and Marisa coming all the way down from first, those were two things that we said coming into this regional that bunts are going to be key for us and base running was something we were going to harp on. Seeing all that come together was great.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On playing their best ball of this year…“I thought we played great. I’m excited to see what we have in store coming up for Super Regionals. They’re really starting to figure things out. I told them, this is your bus and you’re steering it. I’m a passenger. We give you your tools and you take this where you want. They have really started to understand that and have faith in each other. If something doesn’t go our way, you’re not seeing things spiral, where I thought at the beginning of the year, there were some of those instances. Our pitching has stepped it up to the next level. I think our infield has played lights out. Jade has been just…she’s dynamic. I love watching this kid play. We were at practice and her and Stank were taking extra reps and I looked at her posture. We’re really big on posture in the infield. I was in the bullpen and I looked over and saw her and Marisa with great posture, fielding balls and sucking them up. I just thought, look at this kid, look at where she’s come. I know any ball that’s hit on the ground in that vicinity, we have a shot. She’s got a cannon of an arm and I can’t say enough about her. Becerra played a great third base, Stank…that was a tough play in between hop. Then you have Stank playing second base moving over to first base. We’ve got an unselfish team. They have one goal and they’ve bought in. I’m enjoying it.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On South Carolina…“It’ll be here, we’ll enjoy this tonight. We obviously have film on them and they have film on us. I worry more about ourselves, our bubble and our preparation. I’ll let them go play the game. I think sometimes we can over coach. We have great athletes, and at the end of the day we just have to let them play the game.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On seeing Danae Chatman’s game progress…“We’ve talked about that through the years, the more at-bats she’s getting, these kids are going to start develop. She’s taken that and run with it. She has been pivotal for us over this last month. She’s seeing the ball well. I just let her be. We tell her to get a good pitch and put a good swing on it. She’s comfortable now, she’s seeing the ball big, and we just want her to continue to see it big.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On Maddie Hackbarth…“She struggles throughout the year. She started off real hot and sometimes you get unlucky. She’s done a great job catching for G. They have a great relationship and that to me is key. I’m most proud of Maddie for continuing to come in, get extra work and keep grinding. She’s worked on her mental game. In practice, she hits lights out so we knew it was nothing physical, just her finding her groove again. I feel like she’s heading in that direction and she’s had some good at-bats for us.”
Ole Miss
Head Coach Mike Smith
Opening statement… “It’s a great day to be a Rebel. It’s not how we wanted to end the season. You never want to end the season losing, but tip your cap to Arizona State. That’s a good ball club and you’re probably going to see them in Oklahoma City. I say that knowing they’re going to play South Carolina – another SEC school – and I think it’s going to be a great series. Whoever comes out of this region is going to be battle-tested and will be ready to compete for a national championship in Oklahoma.”
On Arizona State’s offensive approach… “We weren’t ready. They’re a big-hitting team and they had a great game plan that kind of kept our team on our heels. They tried to push bunt and we didn’t expect it. Kaitlyn [Lee] doesn’t really overpower people, so it’s a little easier to bunt and for you to know where it’s going to go, so we were just on our heels defensively and you can’t be on your heels in a game like this. It was a great job by ASU and coach [Trisha] Ford. What they did and the game plan overall, jumping on someone early for five runs in the first inning, that’s grabbing someone by the throat and squeezing.”
On the difficulty of coming back in this situation… “With this staff? They have one of the best pitching staffs in the country with G Juarez throwing, then you have Breanna Macha in the bullpen, that’s one of the top one-two punches in the country. There’s a few I can think of in the SEC and even the Pac-12, but when you get down by five runs, that’s an uphill battle. But good teams try to find a way to battle. We – I just think we kind of panicked and it put us behind the 8-ball and got ourselves down. Our biggest story this year, for us being a rollercoaster team, is we give up the big inning. Most of our big losses have been one big inning and that’s what happened today. If you look back in the course of the SEC season, it was one big inning. We shut them down for five or six, then give up one big inning and you can’t do that and expect to win.”
On Kaitlyn Lee’s impact on Ole Miss… “I said it on TV and I’ll say it again: Kaitlyn Lee is the face of Ole Miss. She was kind of the Cinderella story, the darling of college softball last year and everyone kind of fell in love with her. We’re glad that she’s on our side and she had to become a better pitcher this year. There was a lot of tape on her and she had to become a different type of pitcher this year. She had to change some things and sometimes she made those adjustments, but sometimes teams did a better job and made adjustments to her. Regardless of what she did this year, regardless of what happened today, it doesn’t take away from her legacy. Her legacy is what she’s been able to do for this program. She really put us on the map last year going to a super regional and almost knocking off UCLA. I’m proud of her and I’m proud of this senior class. Our senior class has created a new culture, a new mindset and a new legacy for our program. I mean, three-straight regional championships and of course one we won to get to a super regional – that’s the legacy they created, not the game today. I’m just proud of what those seven on our team have established. I’m excited for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn is coming back to be a student assistant for us. Brittney Finney just graduated in three years and is coming back as a graduate player for us. We’ve got some recruits coming in and Ole Miss is going to be around for a while. We’re not just a one-hit wonder. Going back, I’m just proud of our senior class and what they’ve been able to do for our program.”
On ASU last year vs. this year… “I think they’re very well-balanced. They’ve got speed, they’ve got power. Their pitchers attack the zone much more and change speed. We didn’t face Breanna Macha last year, we didn’t face G Juarez. I forgot who we faced at the regional. They’re a well-balanced team and to get to Oklahoma City, you have to be that. You can’t be one-dimensional and I think they’ve got it all. They’ve got pitching. Trisha Ford does a great job. There’s a reason why she’s a national coach. It’s a great program. What she’s been able to do here in a short amount of time, and really taking it back to when Clint Meyers was here, she’s done a great job. She’s brought in some great recruits and had some carry-over. Trisha and I go way back, so I’m happy for her. Where this program is under her leadership, I think Arizona State is going to be a force year in and year out. They are in the Pac-12 and they are nationally.”
GAME FIVE OLE MISS 1, LBSU 0
OLE MISS
Coach Mike Smith
Opening Statement… “It is a great day to be a Rebel. First off, I want to congratulate both Long Beach State and New Mexico State for making a regional and had a great year. Long Beach, what a great game we just played. Some excellent defensive plays and great pitching. That ball game could have gone either way I am glad we have this girl to my right (Kaitlin Lee) and these other two over here (Kylan Becker & Abbey Latham). Excited that we are going to have the opportunity to play in our third consecutive regional championship.”
Kaitlin Lee
On the bases loaded jam in the sixth inning… “I needed to get ground balls. Ground balls and pop ups. I just knew that they were going to swing the crap out of the bat basically, and so I needed them to overswing on my pitches. I did basically just that. I needed to keep a clear head which I think that I did. Just stay as one with our defense and just kind of go through with what I know how to do. Get a ground ball and four-then-one. We practice it day-in and day-out on the field, ‘four-then-one, four-then-one. So that is really what I wanted.”
On if competition within the team helps her prepare for situations like that… “Oh yeah, we are all pretty competitive. For some reason I think that we dig down a little deeper when it gets to that point. I know I do, personally. It is just a little bit more pressure and I love that feeling. I love the pressure feeling. It would be boring if everything was perfect 24/7. I would like it sometimes, like if I threw a perfect game every here and there, but it would be a little bit boring if everything just went my way all the time. It was exciting.”
Coach Mike Smith
On what it will take to win two games tomorrow night… “The obvious, you know what that answer is going to be. We are figuring that we are going to face the big lefty. Actually, going into today I thought we were going to face her. I feel like we have a pretty good game plan against her. Again, you can have a great game plan, but you have to execute and I think that is the most important thing. If we can execute at the plate, we’ll need good pitching and good defense. When we put it together, we are a really good ball club. When we lack one or two of those things, it is a rough go around for Ole Miss softball. When we put it all together, I brought up the last couple of weeks our three-game series with Georgia. We pitched well and played good defense and won two of three and that sent us into the SEC tournament and we probably wouldn’t be talking right now if we don’t win those two games. We are probably not here at a regional. We are capable of doing it, we just have to bring it everyday and I am pretty sure the players that step on the field tomorrow are going to be ready to go.”
Abbey Latham
On if she thought she was going to be walked in her last at bat… “Actually no, that didn’t even cross my mind. I don’t know if you saw me, but I had a huge grin on my face like I loved being in that situation. I knew where they were going to pitch me and they had been pitching me in the same spot all game and I wanted that pitch so bad. I wanted to get that oppo-hit and I did. It probably wasn’t the greatest, but it did the job and so I was proud of that.”
Coach Mike Smith
On if he thought Latham would be pitched around in the sixth… “I thought they were going to walk her. You are talking about the hottest hitter on our team right now. You’ve got an open base. I mean yeah, you are putting two runs on, but it is the bottom of the sixth and with who is behind her that had been struggling a bit. We had some players come off the bench. That is the decision they made and we capitalized on it. I said to myself an inning before ‘Man, I really hope Abbey gets an opportunity to get up in a big situation because I think she is going to come through’. Abbey has proven already just in these three games that she lives for this moment and she is ready for the big stage. She has had an up and down year offensively. She can’t play defense because of her shoulder and she has been relinquished to hitting and like I said in one of the last press conferences, she is a cage rat. She gets her swings, she is a student of the game, and the hard work that she has put in to this point, she is finally putting herself on the map as being a good hitter for Ole Miss and coming up in the big situation and picking us up when we need it.”
Kylan Becker
On her approach to the at bat in the sixth inning… “Right before I got into the box, Coach Katie (Rietkovich) told me ‘You get on, we are scoring.’ The pressure was on, if I get on I know I will end up scoring. We are going to do everything it takes. Kaylee (Horton) moved me over and then Abbey ended up driving me in. The goal before going up to bat was get on base. If I got on base, we were going to find a way to do it and we did.”
LONG BEACH ST
Head Coach Kim Sowder
Opening Statement
“I’m just really super proud of the team today. The way they came out and played hard, played with passion, gave everything they had, believed in themselves. We played a lot better today, had great energy and had some great defense. [Jessica Flores] just did awesome today. She pitched great and certainly gave us a great opportunity to win both games today, and I thought we did a better job offensively as far as just having really good at bats, competing and moving runners. We just fell a little short on pushing that run across. I’m really proud of the way the team bounced back today. It kind of shows what they’ve been doing all season: Just bouncing back and having fun out there. Today was a lot like our season has been, so I’m really proud of this team.”
On the team's attitude before an elimination game
“That’s kind of what the team has been doing all year. They dance before every game, they have fun, they truly enjoy each other – It’s very genuine. We play better when we’re having fun out there and staying loose. We’re completely focused and we can kind of do both, so I was glad to see them out there really enjoying themselves and the game. They played great.”
On pitching to Abbey Latham in the sixth inning
“We were trying not to give her anything to good and trying to keep everything off of the plate. We had walked her earlier in the game and [Flores] did a nice job with the pitch outside but unfortunately, it dropped in there.”
Jessica Flores
On pitching this weekend
“I just told myself to trust in my team, and I did. They did what I thought they’d do and they had my back. There was nothing else to it. I didn’t overthink it. Cielo [Meza] was there hyping me up, too. She didn’t get down on herself or get down on the team. She was there to pick me up because I’d never played that role before. I came in, stepped up, and I trusted my hand and my team and they did what they had to do.”
Nichole Fry
On being on the team this season
“I love this team. It’s probably my favorite team since I’ve been here. We get along really well an it’s just easy to play with them out there. They give me a lot of confidence and I give them the same. They really push me to be the player that I am and I just love them very much.”
GAME FOUR LBSU 9, NMSU 0
Long Beach State
Coach Kim Sowder
Opening Statement… “I am proud of the team and the way they bounced back today. We came in with a lot of energy. I just wanted them to play Long Beach State softball and relax a little bit more, be a little more aggressive at the plate and just try not to be perfect. I felt that they felt more relaxed today and played good softball. Jessica Flores did an outstanding job in the circle. Pitched really well and it was nice to get that win.”
On if she sensed her team was ready to go before first pitch… “Yeah they have been really consistent all year and they have done a good job of bouncing back throughout the season. We talk about how important it is. Yesterday was just a tough day. We didn’t feel good about the way we played so we were excited to get back out here today and at least go out there and play with good energy, good passion, and be aggressive. Don’t play uptight and worry about making mistakes. I am happy that we did that and we have one more game here and the plan is to continue to do the same thing.”
New Mexico State
Coach Kathy Rodolph
Opening Statement… “I tip my hat to Long Beach. They came out attacking at the beginning of the game and they definitely put us on our heels. We had to find a way to re-group, but could not be more proud of our girls and the season that they had and the growth they were able to obtain over the year.”
On the first inning struggles… “It was definitely not anything any of us anticipated. We obviously knew that Long Beach is a very talented team. They were on the bubble to host as a potential Top-16 seed. I believe that my pitching staff is stronger than what they showed today. I feel like they were just able to gain the momentum and we were just having a hard time shutting it down.”
GAME THREE ASU 7, OLE MISS 1
Ole Miss
Coach Mike Smith
Opening Statement... “It’s a great day to be a rebel. Even though we lost, we still have life. I just told our players, how bad do you want it, how long do you want to pursue your career? And how bad do you want to continue to go? This kid right here next to me gave us a little bit life in the last inning. Tip your cap to their pitcher, she just kept us off balance all night long. We didn’t make in game adjustments like they did. It’s the difference between good teams and great teams. Arizona State was the better team today.”
On what the Rebels need to do to win in their next outing... “Score more runs than the other team, I mean that’s what it really comes down to. We have to hit, put runs on the board and pitch well. The big inning was caused by us not putting on sun glasses and missing a ball. That big inning costed us a little bit. Some other factors that are beyond my control but it is what it is. We just have to come and be ready to play. We know that it is do or die. It’s win or go home and we will see how bad our team wants it tonight.”
On the controversial play in the third inning... “I mean they were aggressive on the bases. Coach Ford did exactly what I would have done. I would have sent the runner. I thought Paige’s toe was on there when she caught the ball. My complaint was how could they all get together and all three umpires see the same thing. That means the umpires weren’t paying attention to the other parts of the field. They overturned it, I disagreed with it, and It is what it is. You can’t go back and change it. We don’t have instant replay in the game, but the fans have it. They’re screaming and hollering, even the ball off the foot. But, there is no instant replay in the game. I think we need it. Our game is too fast, there’s too much at stake. I think we need to add that to our game now.”
On Arizona State's starting pitcher, Breanna Macha... “She throws a great changeup we knew that coming in. I think we’re trying to do too much with it. We’re trying to hit a big home run. When you’re trying to hit a changeup, you need to go the opposite way, it’s what you do. Especially if you get out front on something. If you get off balance you just try to drive the ball the other way. I think their slapper, Taylor Becerra, Kaitlin threw her a changeup. She sat back on it and drove the ball to center field. It’s exactly what you’re supposed to do with that pitch. We just didn’t make the adjustments on the changeup. We got jammed on the screw ball inside and we didn’t make in game adjustments like we talked about in the scouting report. Again, that is the difference between good and great teams. We’re a good team, we’re just not a great team right now.”
Abbey Latham
On moving on to the next game... "Definitely. I agree what coach said and I think our team needs to be more locked in when we go up. We came off a high last night and I felt like we weren’t as zoned in as we needed to be. We have to have tunnel vision from here on out.”
On hitting three-home runs in two days...“Same thing I said last night. There is a lot of communication between coach and player. The first game today I felt like it wasn’t as focused as we needed to me. As my role as a DP, I just hit. I can’t be on the field to make plays and can’t help my team in that way so that is my one job. I’m just trying to do my job.”
ASU
COACH FORD
Opening statement… “Obviously I’m very proud of their effort today. Yesterday I said we had to hit harder and we hit harder today. Great, great at bats in the box every inning. We’re doing some damage. I thought we did a tremendous job coming out. I thought Macha threw lights out. She did just a phenomenal job, her changeup was working. It was money. We executed our game.”
On the team scoring early... “I think every run is huge for us. For us, we are going to scrap together some runs. One of our keys that we sat down as a coaching staff and talked to the team about was base running and taking every bag that we could possibly take. I think we are going to put pressure on defense and coach Wynn does a Phenomenal job with our base running game and we work on it every single day. I’m one of those people that believes the inches is what matters, the little things. Stank’s ball that missed the line by like a inch down the left field line. It’s a game of inches. We have to get every run that we could possibly get. It’s tough. The postseason is tough. We are battle tested. I have faith in our preparation but we will absolutely push the envelope on the bases.”
On pulling Gibson, and having her pitching staff set up for Sunday's game... “Gibby’s fine and was fine to go back in. I think we have very capable and we’ve talked about our bench. Bella’s been fantastic. With Macha pitching, Bella is a great second baseman. Stank obviously moves over to first base. Defensively, we got a little bit better with Bella at second base. Gibby just wasn’t feeling right after that first at bat. The thing is we have depth and I have that confidence I can go to the bench and everybody is ready to play. I think it showed today. I thought Stank did a great job at first base, Bella did a great job at second. At this time of year you will need a lot of bodies so it’s important we come in and we’re ready to go.”
On the decision to start Macha in Saturday's game... “My gut told me Bre today. I think both of them could have taken care of business. We’re very fortunate we have two great pitchers. This is Bre’s senior year and if you talk to her as much as I talk to her, she wants this. We’ve talked about this the last couple weeks that she found her rhythm and she’s pitched great games. Her off speed is working, her down ball is breaking hard. She’s just done a really good job. Honestly, I just feel very fortunate that we have two pitchers that are very competitive and also polar opposites. I think from a preparation standpoint it’s a nightmare.”
BREANNA MACHA
On what was effective for her in the circle this afternoon... “These past couple weeks we’ve really worked on the changeup, just getting it feeling good again. Talking with coach, we had a great week of preparation and I think that it goes to show that when we put in the work we can go out and play our game.”
On Playing Regional in Arizona… “We set a goal this year to host regionals and host our super. I think it goes to show the work we put in in the beginning of the year has paid off. We can take it home, we can take it home at home.”
Marisa Stankiewic
On playing a Regional in the state of Arizona... “It means everything to me. I’m speaking probably for all the seniors. It means everything. Being in our home town in the heat, the dry heat, having the crowd behind us means a lot. It only fuels our fire more.”
On the offensive production…“I think it just means we are a good hitting team and if we stick to our game plan in the box that we can do great things. It showed today and we were able to score seven runs.”
On sliding over to play first base…“Sliding over to first base, when we take reps during practice I take reps at second and also at first. It’s nothing new, a ground ball is a ground ball. Snow coning the ball was me just trying to squeeze it.”
On playing in a game with multiple stoppages...“If you looked into the dugout when that was happening everyone was jumping around, excited. We just try to stay loose during those times and like you said it is a chance for us to take a step back and enjoy it. We like to feed off of it.”
GAME TWO QUOTES/ASU 2, NEW MEXICO STATE 0 (MAY 18, 2018/NCAA TEMPE REGIONAL
----------ARIZONA STATE
Coach Trisha Ford
Opening Statement… “I don’t really have a lot of words and they will tell you that I always have words. Just so proud of them tonight. They came out focused. They were on a mission. Pitching, defense, and offensively all facets of our game were rolling. They were like a well-oiled machine tonight. Just really proud of them. This is the first time they have been in a regional championship game. Obviously, regional championship game at home. I though our fans were electric tonight and we are happy that we are continuing on and get to stay home.”
On being able to jump on the Rebels early… “I just think that they did a great job of executing their plans. I think we came out when we did warm ups today, I asked a couple of them because they were really quiet and they said ‘We are focused’. You could see it in their eyes and I was like ‘Alright, I like this’. I enjoyed it. I just enjoyed watching them compete. I think that is the type of team I love to coach. They competed their butts off. Our baserunning, our short game, we really took advantage of every opportunity. I was happy.”
On if she saw something in the defense that allowed for more small ball… “Yes and no. I just think that we are capable of it and Coach (Carly) Wynn does a great job with our bunters. They will tell you that we practice a lot of bunting and baserunning. She does a great job. I know it is a facet of our game that we can exploit anybody when we are running with our heads up and putting the ball in the ground and moving runners. I think that we executed and it was really neat for them to see that kind of all come into play tonight. How about Gibby (Danielle Gibson) drag bunting? She is like a giraffe running.
On Danielle Gibson’s health… “She is fine. Today she had some great at bats and played some great first base for us. We wanted to get Bella (Loomis) some innings as the game went on and get Stank (Marisa Stankiewicz some work at first. We had that luxury to be able to do that. She is coming along fine. She is freshman, she has not been through this before, and she is enjoying every minute. We are fortunate to have her.”
G Juarez
On what it is like when both pitchers can get in the game during a win… “I think it is fun because we are polar opposites in the way we pitch. I came out to her when I heard she was going in and said ‘You just have to have my back, we can do it’. We are complete opposites it is funny to see me, who is a rise ball pitcher, and see her, who is a complete down-baller.”
Breanna Macha
On what it is like when both pitchers can get in the game during a win … “The same thing happened in the Cal series. We both go up to one and other and say ‘I have your back’. It is going to be a long season and I just think that we have grown with our relationship and it is only going to grow from here. We are excited.”
On what the pitching duo is capable of in the Super Regional… “At the beginning of the year I said single handily, Giselle Juarez can take us to a national championship. I said that from day one. I just think it goes to show the confidence that our entire pitching staff our entire team has in her. We are ready to go."
G Juarez
On what the pitching duo is capable of in the Super Regional… “Honestly, I can’t do it without her. She does have my back and I have complete faith in that and in all our staff. I love her and I love the way our relationship has grown. We have complete faith in one and other, but we are still competing for the same spot and I don’t think many staffs have that. To where they can compete against each other, but they can still want the best for each other.”
Breanna Macha
On the step forward they each can take in the Super Regional… “Coach (Ford) says it best, preparation is the key to success and I always say that. Just having a good week of preparation this week. When we prepare, I don’t think a lot of teams can beat us. I think we will be ready.”
Jade Gortarez
On the defense backing up an outstanding pitching staff… “I think our defense, especially our infield and our outfield, put in a lot of work. Especially separate work. Our infield is insane. We get everything done and at this point in the season we are really just talking with each other and coaching up each other. It is just little things that I am being picky about or Marisa (Stankiewicz) and even Taylor (Becerra). We are constantly talking to each other and the outfield. The outfield puts in the most work. Especially balls off the wall, we are always working after practice. Our defense as a whole, we are one of the best in the Pac.”
On what it would mean to advance past the Super Regional and play for a championship… “We set our goal for this season. It was to finish in the Top-3 in the Pac, host a regional, and try to host a Super. Everything is just coming together at this point. We all believe in one and other.”
On how it feels to be playing this good at this particular time of the season… “This is the time to start getting up to our peak and I still don’t believe that we are there yet. By the time of next weekend and Oklahoma if we make it further, we are going to be playing our best ball that we have all year.”
Jade Gortarez
On if the defense feeds off of the good pitching…“I would agree with that. Bree’s a competitor
and she’s crazy on the mound. She’s a lot like me so we get along. We get along great. G’s just
the opposite, she does her own thing and we’re there having her back and supporting her. G
smiles and Bree’s the fun one.”
G Juarez
On how they were feeling after the first inning…“Electric. That’s the only word to describe it, electric. Pumped up and ready to finish the game.”
Jade Gortarez
On how they were feeling after the first inning… “Seeing Gibby put down that bunt and Marisa coming all the way down from first, those were two things that we said coming into this regional that bunts are going to be key for us and base running was something we were going to harp on. Seeing all that come together was great.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On playing their best ball of this year…“I thought we played great. I’m excited to see what we have in store coming up for Super Regionals. They’re really starting to figure things out. I told them, this is your bus and you’re steering it. I’m a passenger. We give you your tools and you take this where you want. They have really started to understand that and have faith in each other. If something doesn’t go our way, you’re not seeing things spiral, where I thought at the beginning of the year, there were some of those instances. Our pitching has stepped it up to the next level. I think our infield has played lights out. Jade has been just…she’s dynamic. I love watching this kid play. We were at practice and her and Stank were taking extra reps and I looked at her posture. We’re really big on posture in the infield. I was in the bullpen and I looked over and saw her and Marisa with great posture, fielding balls and sucking them up. I just thought, look at this kid, look at where she’s come. I know any ball that’s hit on the ground in that vicinity, we have a shot. She’s got a cannon of an arm and I can’t say enough about her. Becerra played a great third base, Stank…that was a tough play in between hop. Then you have Stank playing second base moving over to first base. We’ve got an unselfish team. They have one goal and they’ve bought in. I’m enjoying it.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On South Carolina…“It’ll be here, we’ll enjoy this tonight. We obviously have film on them and they have film on us. I worry more about ourselves, our bubble and our preparation. I’ll let them go play the game. I think sometimes we can over coach. We have great athletes, and at the end of the day we just have to let them play the game.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On seeing Danae Chatman’s game progress…“We’ve talked about that through the years, the more at-bats she’s getting, these kids are going to start develop. She’s taken that and run with it. She has been pivotal for us over this last month. She’s seeing the ball well. I just let her be. We tell her to get a good pitch and put a good swing on it. She’s comfortable now, she’s seeing the ball big, and we just want her to continue to see it big.”
Coach Trisha Ford
On Maddie Hackbarth…“She struggles throughout the year. She started off real hot and sometimes you get unlucky. She’s done a great job catching for G. They have a great relationship and that to me is key. I’m most proud of Maddie for continuing to come in, get extra work and keep grinding. She’s worked on her mental game. In practice, she hits lights out so we knew it was nothing physical, just her finding her groove again. I feel like she’s heading in that direction and she’s had some good at-bats for us.”
Ole Miss
Head Coach Mike Smith
Opening statement… “It’s a great day to be a Rebel. It’s not how we wanted to end the season. You never want to end the season losing, but tip your cap to Arizona State. That’s a good ball club and you’re probably going to see them in Oklahoma City. I say that knowing they’re going to play South Carolina – another SEC school – and I think it’s going to be a great series. Whoever comes out of this region is going to be battle-tested and will be ready to compete for a national championship in Oklahoma.”
On Arizona State’s offensive approach… “We weren’t ready. They’re a big-hitting team and they had a great game plan that kind of kept our team on our heels. They tried to push bunt and we didn’t expect it. Kaitlyn [Lee] doesn’t really overpower people, so it’s a little easier to bunt and for you to know where it’s going to go, so we were just on our heels defensively and you can’t be on your heels in a game like this. It was a great job by ASU and coach [Trisha] Ford. What they did and the game plan overall, jumping on someone early for five runs in the first inning, that’s grabbing someone by the throat and squeezing.”
On the difficulty of coming back in this situation… “With this staff? They have one of the best pitching staffs in the country with G Juarez throwing, then you have Breanna Macha in the bullpen, that’s one of the top one-two punches in the country. There’s a few I can think of in the SEC and even the Pac-12, but when you get down by five runs, that’s an uphill battle. But good teams try to find a way to battle. We – I just think we kind of panicked and it put us behind the 8-ball and got ourselves down. Our biggest story this year, for us being a rollercoaster team, is we give up the big inning. Most of our big losses have been one big inning and that’s what happened today. If you look back in the course of the SEC season, it was one big inning. We shut them down for five or six, then give up one big inning and you can’t do that and expect to win.”
On Kaitlyn Lee’s impact on Ole Miss… “I said it on TV and I’ll say it again: Kaitlyn Lee is the face of Ole Miss. She was kind of the Cinderella story, the darling of college softball last year and everyone kind of fell in love with her. We’re glad that she’s on our side and she had to become a better pitcher this year. There was a lot of tape on her and she had to become a different type of pitcher this year. She had to change some things and sometimes she made those adjustments, but sometimes teams did a better job and made adjustments to her. Regardless of what she did this year, regardless of what happened today, it doesn’t take away from her legacy. Her legacy is what she’s been able to do for this program. She really put us on the map last year going to a super regional and almost knocking off UCLA. I’m proud of her and I’m proud of this senior class. Our senior class has created a new culture, a new mindset and a new legacy for our program. I mean, three-straight regional championships and of course one we won to get to a super regional – that’s the legacy they created, not the game today. I’m just proud of what those seven on our team have established. I’m excited for Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn is coming back to be a student assistant for us. Brittney Finney just graduated in three years and is coming back as a graduate player for us. We’ve got some recruits coming in and Ole Miss is going to be around for a while. We’re not just a one-hit wonder. Going back, I’m just proud of our senior class and what they’ve been able to do for our program.”
On ASU last year vs. this year… “I think they’re very well-balanced. They’ve got speed, they’ve got power. Their pitchers attack the zone much more and change speed. We didn’t face Breanna Macha last year, we didn’t face G Juarez. I forgot who we faced at the regional. They’re a well-balanced team and to get to Oklahoma City, you have to be that. You can’t be one-dimensional and I think they’ve got it all. They’ve got pitching. Trisha Ford does a great job. There’s a reason why she’s a national coach. It’s a great program. What she’s been able to do here in a short amount of time, and really taking it back to when Clint Meyers was here, she’s done a great job. She’s brought in some great recruits and had some carry-over. Trisha and I go way back, so I’m happy for her. Where this program is under her leadership, I think Arizona State is going to be a force year in and year out. They are in the Pac-12 and they are nationally.”
GAME FIVE OLE MISS 1, LBSU 0
OLE MISS
Coach Mike Smith
Opening Statement… “It is a great day to be a Rebel. First off, I want to congratulate both Long Beach State and New Mexico State for making a regional and had a great year. Long Beach, what a great game we just played. Some excellent defensive plays and great pitching. That ball game could have gone either way I am glad we have this girl to my right (Kaitlin Lee) and these other two over here (Kylan Becker & Abbey Latham). Excited that we are going to have the opportunity to play in our third consecutive regional championship.”
Kaitlin Lee
On the bases loaded jam in the sixth inning… “I needed to get ground balls. Ground balls and pop ups. I just knew that they were going to swing the crap out of the bat basically, and so I needed them to overswing on my pitches. I did basically just that. I needed to keep a clear head which I think that I did. Just stay as one with our defense and just kind of go through with what I know how to do. Get a ground ball and four-then-one. We practice it day-in and day-out on the field, ‘four-then-one, four-then-one. So that is really what I wanted.”
On if competition within the team helps her prepare for situations like that… “Oh yeah, we are all pretty competitive. For some reason I think that we dig down a little deeper when it gets to that point. I know I do, personally. It is just a little bit more pressure and I love that feeling. I love the pressure feeling. It would be boring if everything was perfect 24/7. I would like it sometimes, like if I threw a perfect game every here and there, but it would be a little bit boring if everything just went my way all the time. It was exciting.”
Coach Mike Smith
On what it will take to win two games tomorrow night… “The obvious, you know what that answer is going to be. We are figuring that we are going to face the big lefty. Actually, going into today I thought we were going to face her. I feel like we have a pretty good game plan against her. Again, you can have a great game plan, but you have to execute and I think that is the most important thing. If we can execute at the plate, we’ll need good pitching and good defense. When we put it together, we are a really good ball club. When we lack one or two of those things, it is a rough go around for Ole Miss softball. When we put it all together, I brought up the last couple of weeks our three-game series with Georgia. We pitched well and played good defense and won two of three and that sent us into the SEC tournament and we probably wouldn’t be talking right now if we don’t win those two games. We are probably not here at a regional. We are capable of doing it, we just have to bring it everyday and I am pretty sure the players that step on the field tomorrow are going to be ready to go.”
Abbey Latham
On if she thought she was going to be walked in her last at bat… “Actually no, that didn’t even cross my mind. I don’t know if you saw me, but I had a huge grin on my face like I loved being in that situation. I knew where they were going to pitch me and they had been pitching me in the same spot all game and I wanted that pitch so bad. I wanted to get that oppo-hit and I did. It probably wasn’t the greatest, but it did the job and so I was proud of that.”
Coach Mike Smith
On if he thought Latham would be pitched around in the sixth… “I thought they were going to walk her. You are talking about the hottest hitter on our team right now. You’ve got an open base. I mean yeah, you are putting two runs on, but it is the bottom of the sixth and with who is behind her that had been struggling a bit. We had some players come off the bench. That is the decision they made and we capitalized on it. I said to myself an inning before ‘Man, I really hope Abbey gets an opportunity to get up in a big situation because I think she is going to come through’. Abbey has proven already just in these three games that she lives for this moment and she is ready for the big stage. She has had an up and down year offensively. She can’t play defense because of her shoulder and she has been relinquished to hitting and like I said in one of the last press conferences, she is a cage rat. She gets her swings, she is a student of the game, and the hard work that she has put in to this point, she is finally putting herself on the map as being a good hitter for Ole Miss and coming up in the big situation and picking us up when we need it.”
Kylan Becker
On her approach to the at bat in the sixth inning… “Right before I got into the box, Coach Katie (Rietkovich) told me ‘You get on, we are scoring.’ The pressure was on, if I get on I know I will end up scoring. We are going to do everything it takes. Kaylee (Horton) moved me over and then Abbey ended up driving me in. The goal before going up to bat was get on base. If I got on base, we were going to find a way to do it and we did.”
LONG BEACH ST
Head Coach Kim Sowder
Opening Statement
“I’m just really super proud of the team today. The way they came out and played hard, played with passion, gave everything they had, believed in themselves. We played a lot better today, had great energy and had some great defense. [Jessica Flores] just did awesome today. She pitched great and certainly gave us a great opportunity to win both games today, and I thought we did a better job offensively as far as just having really good at bats, competing and moving runners. We just fell a little short on pushing that run across. I’m really proud of the way the team bounced back today. It kind of shows what they’ve been doing all season: Just bouncing back and having fun out there. Today was a lot like our season has been, so I’m really proud of this team.”
On the team's attitude before an elimination game
“That’s kind of what the team has been doing all year. They dance before every game, they have fun, they truly enjoy each other – It’s very genuine. We play better when we’re having fun out there and staying loose. We’re completely focused and we can kind of do both, so I was glad to see them out there really enjoying themselves and the game. They played great.”
On pitching to Abbey Latham in the sixth inning
“We were trying not to give her anything to good and trying to keep everything off of the plate. We had walked her earlier in the game and [Flores] did a nice job with the pitch outside but unfortunately, it dropped in there.”
Jessica Flores
On pitching this weekend
“I just told myself to trust in my team, and I did. They did what I thought they’d do and they had my back. There was nothing else to it. I didn’t overthink it. Cielo [Meza] was there hyping me up, too. She didn’t get down on herself or get down on the team. She was there to pick me up because I’d never played that role before. I came in, stepped up, and I trusted my hand and my team and they did what they had to do.”
Nichole Fry
On being on the team this season
“I love this team. It’s probably my favorite team since I’ve been here. We get along really well an it’s just easy to play with them out there. They give me a lot of confidence and I give them the same. They really push me to be the player that I am and I just love them very much.”
GAME FOUR LBSU 9, NMSU 0
Long Beach State
Coach Kim Sowder
Opening Statement… “I am proud of the team and the way they bounced back today. We came in with a lot of energy. I just wanted them to play Long Beach State softball and relax a little bit more, be a little more aggressive at the plate and just try not to be perfect. I felt that they felt more relaxed today and played good softball. Jessica Flores did an outstanding job in the circle. Pitched really well and it was nice to get that win.”
On if she sensed her team was ready to go before first pitch… “Yeah they have been really consistent all year and they have done a good job of bouncing back throughout the season. We talk about how important it is. Yesterday was just a tough day. We didn’t feel good about the way we played so we were excited to get back out here today and at least go out there and play with good energy, good passion, and be aggressive. Don’t play uptight and worry about making mistakes. I am happy that we did that and we have one more game here and the plan is to continue to do the same thing.”
New Mexico State
Coach Kathy Rodolph
Opening Statement… “I tip my hat to Long Beach. They came out attacking at the beginning of the game and they definitely put us on our heels. We had to find a way to re-group, but could not be more proud of our girls and the season that they had and the growth they were able to obtain over the year.”
On the first inning struggles… “It was definitely not anything any of us anticipated. We obviously knew that Long Beach is a very talented team. They were on the bubble to host as a potential Top-16 seed. I believe that my pitching staff is stronger than what they showed today. I feel like they were just able to gain the momentum and we were just having a hard time shutting it down.”
GAME THREE ASU 7, OLE MISS 1
Ole Miss
Coach Mike Smith
Opening Statement... “It’s a great day to be a rebel. Even though we lost, we still have life. I just told our players, how bad do you want it, how long do you want to pursue your career? And how bad do you want to continue to go? This kid right here next to me gave us a little bit life in the last inning. Tip your cap to their pitcher, she just kept us off balance all night long. We didn’t make in game adjustments like they did. It’s the difference between good teams and great teams. Arizona State was the better team today.”
On what the Rebels need to do to win in their next outing... “Score more runs than the other team, I mean that’s what it really comes down to. We have to hit, put runs on the board and pitch well. The big inning was caused by us not putting on sun glasses and missing a ball. That big inning costed us a little bit. Some other factors that are beyond my control but it is what it is. We just have to come and be ready to play. We know that it is do or die. It’s win or go home and we will see how bad our team wants it tonight.”
On the controversial play in the third inning... “I mean they were aggressive on the bases. Coach Ford did exactly what I would have done. I would have sent the runner. I thought Paige’s toe was on there when she caught the ball. My complaint was how could they all get together and all three umpires see the same thing. That means the umpires weren’t paying attention to the other parts of the field. They overturned it, I disagreed with it, and It is what it is. You can’t go back and change it. We don’t have instant replay in the game, but the fans have it. They’re screaming and hollering, even the ball off the foot. But, there is no instant replay in the game. I think we need it. Our game is too fast, there’s too much at stake. I think we need to add that to our game now.”
On Arizona State's starting pitcher, Breanna Macha... “She throws a great changeup we knew that coming in. I think we’re trying to do too much with it. We’re trying to hit a big home run. When you’re trying to hit a changeup, you need to go the opposite way, it’s what you do. Especially if you get out front on something. If you get off balance you just try to drive the ball the other way. I think their slapper, Taylor Becerra, Kaitlin threw her a changeup. She sat back on it and drove the ball to center field. It’s exactly what you’re supposed to do with that pitch. We just didn’t make the adjustments on the changeup. We got jammed on the screw ball inside and we didn’t make in game adjustments like we talked about in the scouting report. Again, that is the difference between good and great teams. We’re a good team, we’re just not a great team right now.”
Abbey Latham
On moving on to the next game... "Definitely. I agree what coach said and I think our team needs to be more locked in when we go up. We came off a high last night and I felt like we weren’t as zoned in as we needed to be. We have to have tunnel vision from here on out.”
On hitting three-home runs in two days...“Same thing I said last night. There is a lot of communication between coach and player. The first game today I felt like it wasn’t as focused as we needed to me. As my role as a DP, I just hit. I can’t be on the field to make plays and can’t help my team in that way so that is my one job. I’m just trying to do my job.”
ASU
COACH FORD
Opening statement… “Obviously I’m very proud of their effort today. Yesterday I said we had to hit harder and we hit harder today. Great, great at bats in the box every inning. We’re doing some damage. I thought we did a tremendous job coming out. I thought Macha threw lights out. She did just a phenomenal job, her changeup was working. It was money. We executed our game.”
On the team scoring early... “I think every run is huge for us. For us, we are going to scrap together some runs. One of our keys that we sat down as a coaching staff and talked to the team about was base running and taking every bag that we could possibly take. I think we are going to put pressure on defense and coach Wynn does a Phenomenal job with our base running game and we work on it every single day. I’m one of those people that believes the inches is what matters, the little things. Stank’s ball that missed the line by like a inch down the left field line. It’s a game of inches. We have to get every run that we could possibly get. It’s tough. The postseason is tough. We are battle tested. I have faith in our preparation but we will absolutely push the envelope on the bases.”
On pulling Gibson, and having her pitching staff set up for Sunday's game... “Gibby’s fine and was fine to go back in. I think we have very capable and we’ve talked about our bench. Bella’s been fantastic. With Macha pitching, Bella is a great second baseman. Stank obviously moves over to first base. Defensively, we got a little bit better with Bella at second base. Gibby just wasn’t feeling right after that first at bat. The thing is we have depth and I have that confidence I can go to the bench and everybody is ready to play. I think it showed today. I thought Stank did a great job at first base, Bella did a great job at second. At this time of year you will need a lot of bodies so it’s important we come in and we’re ready to go.”
On the decision to start Macha in Saturday's game... “My gut told me Bre today. I think both of them could have taken care of business. We’re very fortunate we have two great pitchers. This is Bre’s senior year and if you talk to her as much as I talk to her, she wants this. We’ve talked about this the last couple weeks that she found her rhythm and she’s pitched great games. Her off speed is working, her down ball is breaking hard. She’s just done a really good job. Honestly, I just feel very fortunate that we have two pitchers that are very competitive and also polar opposites. I think from a preparation standpoint it’s a nightmare.”
BREANNA MACHA
On what was effective for her in the circle this afternoon... “These past couple weeks we’ve really worked on the changeup, just getting it feeling good again. Talking with coach, we had a great week of preparation and I think that it goes to show that when we put in the work we can go out and play our game.”
On Playing Regional in Arizona… “We set a goal this year to host regionals and host our super. I think it goes to show the work we put in in the beginning of the year has paid off. We can take it home, we can take it home at home.”
Marisa Stankiewic
On playing a Regional in the state of Arizona... “It means everything to me. I’m speaking probably for all the seniors. It means everything. Being in our home town in the heat, the dry heat, having the crowd behind us means a lot. It only fuels our fire more.”
On the offensive production…“I think it just means we are a good hitting team and if we stick to our game plan in the box that we can do great things. It showed today and we were able to score seven runs.”
On sliding over to play first base…“Sliding over to first base, when we take reps during practice I take reps at second and also at first. It’s nothing new, a ground ball is a ground ball. Snow coning the ball was me just trying to squeeze it.”
On playing in a game with multiple stoppages...“If you looked into the dugout when that was happening everyone was jumping around, excited. We just try to stay loose during those times and like you said it is a chance for us to take a step back and enjoy it. We like to feed off of it.”
GAME TWO QUOTES/ASU 2, NEW MEXICO STATE 0 (MAY 18, 2018/NCAA TEMPE REGIONAL
Head Coach Trisha Ford: “I told them, the first game’s always hard. I thought they did a heck of a job, they made some loud outs tonight but it’s going to be hard and you’ve got to embrace this hardness, it’s such a great opportunity, this is to prove that the hard is the privilege and they did a good job. I thought G [Giselle Juarez] made some big pitches when she needed to. Our defense played solid behind her and we got some hits when we needed them. So hopefully we got all of the rust out and we’re ready to go tomorrow.”
Morgan, this was your first playoff game in an ASU uniform, what was it like for you?
Morgan Howe: “Definitely exciting, kind of a little nerve racking, it kind of took me back to the beginning of the season, the first time in this uniform in general. I had butterflies, but they were the good ones. It’s just super exciting and super fun. I really enjoy being out here with these girls, it’s just a fun time.”
For both of you, what was it like playing in front of a crowd like it was today?
Giselle “G” Juarez: “Obviously, it’s both of our first regionals here hosting, for me it’s really exciting because, it’s kind of the same as the season, we’re kind of used to it but there’s just a difference in the atmosphere and we love it.”
Howe: “It feeds into us too. Their energy, we build off of and it’s just awesome.”
How important was it to get those two early runs to kind of settle down?
Coach Ford: “I think they’re huge. I mean I think that we do a really good job when we put up runs, G closes it out. She’s been put in a fun position that she’s like ‘give me a run and I’m going to go from there,’ the pitching coach would like to have more runs, but we are who we are and I think we do a great job of complimenting each other. I think our offense came up and got some big runs early in the game. I think it allowed G to be a little more loose, I think it allowed us to kind of breath a little bit and I think it allows our hitters, again I can’t say enough we just made a lot of loud outs tonight, right at them. So, I think sometimes that’s how it goes but I’m confident that tomorrow we’re going to hit it harder.”
For G, you threw eight strikeouts in a row at one point, what was working for you tonight?
Juarez: “it’s kind of a broad answer but I always say everything. I mean it’s just me spinning the ball, letting the ball move and just trusting the pitch every pitch I threw tonight.”
Coach Ford: “I’m going to go out on a limb that I bet she didn’t know that. That’s how we function, that’s part of our standard is we got to work pitch by pitch, no matter how it goes so it’s important that we stay in the pitch.”
Coach, tomorrow you’re going up against a Mississippi team that you went against last year and going back to that, how do you think that experience will affect your performance on the field tomorrow?
Coach Ford: “I think we’re familiar with some of their hitters. We’re familiar with Lee if she throws on the mound. It was my first time in the postseason with ASU, it was the first time, being on the road there were a lot of things. Being at home and being who we are this year, I’m excited and I love to hear Mo [Morgan Howe] talk about how she had butterflies because butterflies means that it’s good. I always tell them that’s your body signaling something great’s about to happen. I think tomorrow will have the same thing, but we’ll come out and we’ll be ready to go.”
In that seventh thinning, when Kendra stops that ball, what do those little things mean to you?
Coach Ford: “I think it was a risky play that we have full confidence that she is going to go out and get that ball. Mo was right behind her, so we know what Mo can do with gunning runners down, so I think we’re going to allow our athletes to kind of risk things, especially in big situations and I thought she did a heck of a job keeping that ball in front. She was actually a lot closer than all of us thought to that ball.”
Howe: “It’s funny after that play, she was like, ‘I could have caught that,’ I was like just angle it this way and you could have caught it and she just said, ‘I could have caught that.’”
G, what was your reaction when you saw Taylor make that play at third base to end the game?
Juarez: “I was so excited. Obviously, I realized that we were good. I’m just happy, I don’t have words for it besides excitement.”
G, did you feel any fatigue going into the seventh? That was the only time they really got any success.
Juarez: “Not really, it was their third time seeing me through the game. They’re going to make adjustments but [my teammates] had my back. There was really nothing but focusing on us that was going through my mind.”
Morgan, this was your first playoff game in an ASU uniform, what was it like for you?
Morgan Howe: “Definitely exciting, kind of a little nerve racking, it kind of took me back to the beginning of the season, the first time in this uniform in general. I had butterflies, but they were the good ones. It’s just super exciting and super fun. I really enjoy being out here with these girls, it’s just a fun time.”
For both of you, what was it like playing in front of a crowd like it was today?
Giselle “G” Juarez: “Obviously, it’s both of our first regionals here hosting, for me it’s really exciting because, it’s kind of the same as the season, we’re kind of used to it but there’s just a difference in the atmosphere and we love it.”
Howe: “It feeds into us too. Their energy, we build off of and it’s just awesome.”
How important was it to get those two early runs to kind of settle down?
Coach Ford: “I think they’re huge. I mean I think that we do a really good job when we put up runs, G closes it out. She’s been put in a fun position that she’s like ‘give me a run and I’m going to go from there,’ the pitching coach would like to have more runs, but we are who we are and I think we do a great job of complimenting each other. I think our offense came up and got some big runs early in the game. I think it allowed G to be a little more loose, I think it allowed us to kind of breath a little bit and I think it allows our hitters, again I can’t say enough we just made a lot of loud outs tonight, right at them. So, I think sometimes that’s how it goes but I’m confident that tomorrow we’re going to hit it harder.”
For G, you threw eight strikeouts in a row at one point, what was working for you tonight?
Juarez: “it’s kind of a broad answer but I always say everything. I mean it’s just me spinning the ball, letting the ball move and just trusting the pitch every pitch I threw tonight.”
Coach Ford: “I’m going to go out on a limb that I bet she didn’t know that. That’s how we function, that’s part of our standard is we got to work pitch by pitch, no matter how it goes so it’s important that we stay in the pitch.”
Coach, tomorrow you’re going up against a Mississippi team that you went against last year and going back to that, how do you think that experience will affect your performance on the field tomorrow?
Coach Ford: “I think we’re familiar with some of their hitters. We’re familiar with Lee if she throws on the mound. It was my first time in the postseason with ASU, it was the first time, being on the road there were a lot of things. Being at home and being who we are this year, I’m excited and I love to hear Mo [Morgan Howe] talk about how she had butterflies because butterflies means that it’s good. I always tell them that’s your body signaling something great’s about to happen. I think tomorrow will have the same thing, but we’ll come out and we’ll be ready to go.”
In that seventh thinning, when Kendra stops that ball, what do those little things mean to you?
Coach Ford: “I think it was a risky play that we have full confidence that she is going to go out and get that ball. Mo was right behind her, so we know what Mo can do with gunning runners down, so I think we’re going to allow our athletes to kind of risk things, especially in big situations and I thought she did a heck of a job keeping that ball in front. She was actually a lot closer than all of us thought to that ball.”
Howe: “It’s funny after that play, she was like, ‘I could have caught that,’ I was like just angle it this way and you could have caught it and she just said, ‘I could have caught that.’”
G, what was your reaction when you saw Taylor make that play at third base to end the game?
Juarez: “I was so excited. Obviously, I realized that we were good. I’m just happy, I don’t have words for it besides excitement.”
G, did you feel any fatigue going into the seventh? That was the only time they really got any success.
Juarez: “Not really, it was their third time seeing me through the game. They’re going to make adjustments but [my teammates] had my back. There was really nothing but focusing on us that was going through my mind.”
GAME ONE POSTGAME QUOTES (OLE MISS 9, LONG BEACH STATE 1/MAY 18, 2018)
Long Beach Head Coach Kim Sowder: “Just a tough start to the tournament. Not the way we wanted it to start. We struggled a little bit in kind of every area of the game today, it was nice to get out to a little bit of a lead and then, unfortunately we struggled in the circle there. We weren’t able to come back, Kaitlin did a great job in the circle for them of keeping us off balance with her off speed and we didn’t quite adjust to picking one or the other up to bat. It’s just all about bouncing back at this point and just keeping our heads up. Fortunately, we have another opportunity here in this tournament, so we’ll look forward to getting back on the field and learning from this experience.”
What was the thought process on changing pitchers early on?
Coach Sowder: “Unfortunately, [I’m] not sure why but Cielo [Meza] just lost a little bit of control there and I think Jessica Flores is a very good pitcher and I didn’t want to be in a situation where we let them score on maybe a wild pitch. I just felt that she didn’t have control and we needed to make a change.”
Julia, a couple hard hit balls today, what does the team need to do to respond tomorrow?
Julia Lombardi: “I just think that we need to not press as much. I think we’re a good hitting team and we just need to relax in the box and do what we do best. I think that we are good at coming back and we kept them close, but we didn’t have it today. We didn’t come back like we normally can, but tomorrow hopefully we can do that.”
Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Smith: “It’s a great time to be a rebel. We’re excited about this first win. Coming out to ASU, it’s kind of a little surreal where ASU came to us last year and now we’re here, but I felt like we got a great-pitched ballgame with Kaitlin Lee and of course, kind of, Abbey took over at the plate a little bit and kind of set the table to for what she does year-in-year-out. I’m excited about moving on, you always have to win that first one so, the first one is always the most important one, so you don’t have to battle out of the loser’s bracket early but I’m proud of what these girls have done.”
Abbey, any jitters going in as a freshman, not many games started?
Abbey Latham: “Not really, I felt really prepared for this weekend just because our coaches give us a great plan to go up with at the plate and with the pitch changes we just had a lot of communication between coach and player and so I felt really prepared. So not really much jitters and I feel like that’s why we produced the way we did.”
As the game went on though, especially with you getting an early double on a real good swing, did you feel your confidence growing as you went on?
Latham: “I definitely did, just because getting that initial hit, it’s always good to know for the hitter’s standpoint that you can do this and that you’re in control because you have the bat so definitely starting off with a hit was good.”
Coach, talk a little bit about the offense, it seemed like you guys put the pressure on them, took advantage of some miscues. Talk a little bit about some of the adjustments you made from the start of the game to the end of the game. Particularly when you scored more runs at the end.
Coach Smith: “We knew coming in that with it being hot and the infield potentially going to be really hard, we knew our slappers had an opportunity to be successful and kind of play into our game, our strategy and so we got a couple girls on we just couldn’t score them early on. I think really that double by Abbey really kind of set the tone for us to continue to score and then Kylan got on, we got a couple people here and there, of course the big home run kind of separated it a little bit and we just continued that hitting barrage late in the ballgame and I’m just proud of our girls and sticking to the game plan. We game planned for Meza coming in, knocker her out early and [we] really didn’t have a lot on Flores, we didn’t have a lot of video on her. With Long Beach [State] being a mid-major we don’t get a lot of video, so just scratching, clawing trying to get a good scouting report. We didn’t have a lot but we just kind of made some in game adjustments, moved up on the plate, she kind of threw that ball down and away and we made those adjustments early, moved up in the box and I think that helped us become successful, I think that’s why Abbey hit that towering home run, like she said, talking with the coaches and really just kind of strategizing what we were going to do with a new pitcher coming in. Of course, the third one we had some video on and she got exactly the pitch that we thought she was going to throw in the situation.”
Coach, can you talk about choosing Abbey to be your DP, when she didn’t have a lot of starts, but here, at the SEC Tournament and now you put her in and she delivered today.
Coach Smith: “Abbey is probably one of the hardest workers when it comes to offense. We lost Abbey from the defensive standpoint early on in the year, she tore her labrum a few days before the season. So she was relinquished to just hitting so she spent a lot of time in the cage and she went through her growing pains as a freshman. I’m sure she’d probably admit to it but I’ll tell you, this kid works hard in the cage, she asks questions, she’s a student of the game, she’s a cage rat and success paid off in a page stage and we’re proud of what she was able to do for the program.”
Kaitlin, kind of an old hat for you? Getting out there in the NCAA Tournament?
Kaitlin Lee: “Yeah, I’ve definitely missed it. I think that we thrive for this, Ole Miss loves this so I know it’s a wonderful opportunity to get the ball and I’m super happy that I get the chance to continue to prolong my career when it comes to having a rebel jersey on my back, so I’m super excited to be here.”
You got the early deficit, but you worked out of that situation. Did you feel all along that you’re team was going to have your back?
Lee: “Oh yeah, absolutely. My team, we may have had our ups and downs this year but I wouldn’t want it to be with any other team. They work hard for me and it may not come out in our favor all of the time but we work hard on our mistakes and I think that we’ve kind of gotten pushed in a situation of big innings a lot this season so we kind of did our best to, when it did unfold, other people taking over and not letting it continue to unfold and I think that’s been our problem a lot of the year but today we didn’t let it, that was what me and my catcher Autumn just kept saying, it was the one big inning but it was only one run, that’s better than we normally do with our one big inning.”
Coach Smith: “I think what Kaitlin has been able to do in the course of her career has been pretty remarkable. We’ve asker her to do a lot and she’s really battled but that kid down at the end, Kylan Becker, I mean three for three, two runs scored, she literally set the table for our offense tonight and if it wasn’t for what she was able to do and really put the pressure on that defense, and that’s what she does, there’s a reason why she’s playing for team USA this summer. She’s kind of had a little bit of her ups and downs but over the last couple of weeks she’s really started to come into her own and boy what a great time to be able to have her playing at the top of her game right now. Three for three, two runs scored, setting the table for Abbey and the rest of the team so I’m proud of what she was able to do for us at the top.”
[to Kylan Becker] Fresh start for you kind of this season? You had a good season, maybe not as good as last year but here come the playoffs and here you are producing.
Kylan Becker: “It’s a new time of year so, kind of start at zero and it’s just, now it’s just kind of getting on base so our team can win. It’s not about stats anymore, it’s not about making honors or anything like that. It’s literally just get on base, score, win games so that we can just keep playing.”