May 26, 2007
ASU Head Coach Clint Myers
Opening Statement:
"First let me say that I'm excited to be the coach of . We have great people from the top to the bottom and we have the best fans around. We had close to 3,000 people for great softball and I want to take the time to take my hat off to the people in the stands. It's over 100 degrees and they are out there supporting us and we are starting to get a following. I want them to know that we really appreciate it. You see the girls feeding off of their excitement; that says a lot. So, thank you very much to the fans, without you it makes it a lot tougher to coach."
On moving Jackie [Vasquez] to the four spot:
"We made a couple of line up changes. Jackie gets two hits and we were leaving a lot of people on base so we had to make some changes; LSU is a good ball club. Yesterday we talked about it, so we came up with a different line up and put the hot bats where we needed them."
Are you going to leave Jackie in that spot?
"I don't know about that. She's had quality at bats and she has really been one of our leading hitters in the pat couple of weeks. Last weekend in regionals it was Rhiannon Baca. She hit .717 for the region; we kind of share the wealth here. We aren't afraid to make changes."
On going to the College World Series for the second straight season"
"There aren't going to be any surprises. Last year was the first year for all of us, myself included. Now we have a better understanding of the time tables, the TV times, all of the different things that we have to do there. All of the best teams will be there and we think that our chances are as good as anybody's. So, we are going there with a reason and a purpose."
Junior outfielder Jackie Vasquez
On batting in the number four slot for the first time this season:
"It's just a great coaching call. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous. I went out there with the mentality that I was only the number four batter the first at bat, so I guess it was just the first at bat where it counted."
On Coach Clint Myers' effect on the team:
"He really lights a fire. It is one of those things where leadership is so important. From day one, he told us we were going to the Women's College World Series and he honestly believed that. Because of Coach's belief in us and belief in this program, we now believe we are a national championship contending team."
On this year's team compared to last year's:
"Last year we were all `freshman', figuratively speaking as a team. We are definitely more mature as a team. This year we expected to be there; last year we were just excited to be there. The chemistry is awesome, the leadership is awesome."
Junior pitcher Katie Burkhart
On Coach Clint Myers' effect on the team:
"It's pretty self-explanatory as far as the coaching goes. Coach came in and brought our program back. There were times when I really doubted whether I would see the light, but then Coach came in and told us that we would go to the College World Series. It really lit a fire for all of us and we have been truckin' ever since."
On making adjustments during the game:
"I was making adjustment the whole game. There are times where they made their adjustments, so we had to counter. Any time you go up against a good hitting team they are going to give you a run for your money. I was just trying to go for it and I knew our bats were alive today and it was going to be a good game."
LSU Head Coach Yvette Girouard
Opening Statement:
"Oh what we would have given for one of those balls last night. Not the way we wanted to start, got ourselves in a hole, but we fought back. I thought we had [Katie] Burkhart on the ropes there for a minute, but we let her get back with two strikeouts after that to her credit. In this kind of atmosphere home field advantage is just `the answer'. I'm not taking anything away from Burkhart, but the crowd, it's just an added bonus."
On being sent out west:
"We are the only team in the country to be sent out west twice this year. That's what you work so hard all year for, to get a regional or super regional at home. Of course it would have been nice to play at home, but that's not what we got."
On the change of pace from last night's game compared with tonight's:
"We needed everything to go right this weekend and we understood that. We understood what we were about to face. So, for our kids to come out and stroke the ball like they did, I was proud of them."
Closing thoughts on the season:
"I've been in this spot a lot of times over the years. I've been in this spot and won, but we had a great season. We were a game short of winning the SEC Championship. I thought we had an unbelievably tough draw and I was proud of our girls to battle like they did, but there was a lot stacked against us from the get go."