Texas vs. Chattanooga Quotes
5/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 15, 2009
Recap | Box Score | Notes and Quotes (PDF) | Tuscaloosa Regional Central
Texas
Connie Clark, Texas Head Coach
Opening statement: "It was a grind. When you get in the NCAAs everybody is going to bring their `A' game and it was definitely a grind today. We've talked about you've got to keep jabbing, keep fighting and I think we did that today and transitioned well from offense to defense because we were struggling early offensively. I don't think it effected [Brittany] Barnhill today in the circle or our defense. So we transitioned well, hung around and kept fighting. I'm pleased with that."
On UTC pitcher Brooke Loudermilk's performance: "I thought she did a nice job. It wasn't really the mix of speeds that got us, I think she just worked both sides of the plate pretty well, had pretty good spin on the curveball but kept us honest with the screwball as well. I thought she did a nice job of competing and staying in there pitch-to-pitch. We had too many strikeouts and we always talk about being a little bit better with two strikeouts and we had some early strikeouts that we needed to be pulling the trigger on and being a little more assertive with two strikes."
On scoring in the bottom of the ninth after UTC had the bases loaded in the top: "It was just a matter of time. The more looks you get at a pitcher, it's just a matter of time before people start to figure things out. They got a couple of hits and started to build some momentum, but we stayed very composed for a young squad, especially our battery. We just kept playing and that's really important to do this time of the season."
On if Barnhill's performance was one of her best: "She's done some things probably better physically through the year, but I thought she was pretty darn good with her mental game. The biggest thing for her, she's a very emotional pitcher, it's trying to find that fine line of letting that emotion work for her and not squelching that because she really needs to feed on that but not having it over the top where it's really affecting her. That's been a big goal and she's done a nice job with that this year. I'd give her an `A' on that today. She was very pitch-to-pitch and managed that well. When we get that from her, the physical stuff takes care of itself."
No. 16 Brittany Barnhill, pitcher
On losing the no hitter and coming up with the game-winning hit: "I think that the no-hitter wasn't very important. I didn't even really think about it much. I was just thinking `I really want to win this game.' Our defense was playing absolutely amazing today. We got together before this trip and decided that we really wanted to see that great team that we started the season out with and I think that's exactly what we got today. I just want to keep things in perspective and keep us in the ballgame."
On failing to drive in a game-winning run earlier in the game: "I came up once with a runner on second and struck out. I was really trying to get rid of that before I came out on the field because that's been one of my main focuses, getting rid of the negatives and sticking with the positives. I picked up some dirt and threw it down before I left the dugout to make sure I physically got rid of it [the negativity] and knew that I had a job and had to keep my team in the ballgame."
On coming to bat with the winning run on base: "I was very excited to come up. When she [UTC pitcher Loudermilk] walked Nadia [Taylor] I was so excited. Also when you get excited like that, it's easy to take that too far and maybe mess up. I tried to keep my excitement and stay even keeled. She was working me pretty well but I tried to make some adjustments and make something happen."
Chattanooga
Head Coach Frank Reed
Opening Statement: "I think I told you guys at the beginning of the press conference earlier this week that I think we came to play with this team. If you look at the box score, and I'm not saying that Texas is not a good ball team, but I'm not sure the best team won, and that happens. We didn't get the time to hit with the bases loaded in the tenth inning and they did. You look at Brooke's (Loudermilk) numbers and she struck out ten. Their kid struck out five. We put the ball in play a few times, but we couldn't find a hole. I can't say volumes about the way I feel about the team. This young lady sitting beside me, going into the season in February, she couldn't even lift her arm above her shoulder and look what she's accomplished. We've talked about the adversity that we've been through and then we lose our top hitter in the third inning. Fortunately she didn't break anything and maybe she'll be able to come back tomorrow. We could have given up right then, but we didn't do that and I think that shows volumes about Chattanooga softball and what to expect down the road."
On the feeling over the course of the game: "When we loaded the bases and came up with what I think was our three hitter, who has been one of our top hitters all year, she (Laruen Flores) put the ball in play and if had gotten down a little bit and squeezed up the middle then we would have scored that run and then we would have our six hitter coming up. It's a game of inches and obviously it didn't go our way. Obviously I am disappointed but I am very proud of our ball team."
Brooke Loudermilk
On the last hit of the game: "The five hitter, we went away pretty hard on her. We knew that they were all pretty tough hitters and we kind of had to work off the plate, so we walked her. It wasn't a really bad walk. We got to Brittany Barnhill and we got behind her. When you get behind, then it's kind of up to them. She hit a good pitch. It wasn't a great hit but it was what they needed. It was a curveball."
On her stamina as the game went into extra innings: "I think the adrenaline kind of kept me going, because I haven't pitched that much one time all year. Our team has always come back from behind so I just knew we had it. We just couldn't quite pull it out."
