Alabama vs. Arizona State Postgame Quotes
5/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 31, 2009
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Alabama Postgame Quotes
Head coach Patrick Murphy
Opening comment:
"I appreciate everybody being here and Clint (Myers) is a great guy, too, and congratulations to him as well and ASU on a great season. It is not often that you beat Mike Candrea and Clint Myers on the same day, and that could be the best day in the history of our program, especially since our backs were against the wall. It is do or die and to eliminate Arizona and Arizona State on the same day is one great accomplishment. Credit goes to the team."
On Jazlyn Lunceford and her pinch-hit grand slam in the fourth inning:
"I just believe in her and I know that she has not gotten to play much, but I kept telling our coaches, 'I feel good about Jaz, I feel good about Jaz, we have to get her an at bat.' And with (Brittany) Rogers, I know that she is a four-time All-American but I wanted to score more than one run and Jaz did the rest."
On the SEC beating the Pac-10:
"Congrats to Georgia and Florida for being in the final four but I have said that until someone beats (the Pac-10) they are still the best conference. I was telling our freshmen you don't say anything until you do something. One of us needs to do it and whether it is us, Florida or Georgia, we need to do it. And if we don't we need to shut up until we do."
Jazlyn Lunceford
On her grand slam in the fourth inning:
"It was really exciting to be in that situation. I just knew that I wanted to get it done for our seniors because it means a lot to them. The whole team just wants to do it for them."
"I was talking to our left-handed hitters because I knew that there might be a chance that I would go up, and they said that she was going in and out. And so I just saw that it was outside and just went with it."
Kelsi Dunne
On the confidence boost after the grand slam:
"Our team was just going to stick together and when they hit the home run and scored the two runs I believed in our team to come back and score runs because we know how to fight. When we got down like that we just got fired up. I was really excited to see Jaz get in there and get the big hit. It was really exciting."
Brittany Rogers
On her reaction to being pinch hit for by Jazlyn Lunceford:
"I was excited when he said that Jaz is going to hit for (me) because she takes hacks at the plate and I knew that she was going to fight and give everything she had up there in the box. I would give up my at bat any day to see that happen. I am so proud of her and I think that it is so awesome that she came through in the clutch."
Arizona State Quotes
Head coach Clint Myers
Opening comment:
"I want to thank Oklahoma City, the state of Oklahoma for their great support in the tournament. I want to thank the committee for the job they did. I also want to say how proud I am to represent Arizona State for the fourth consecutive year. It's a great honor, it's a great tournament. Really, I can't say enough great things about the ladies that have played. This was (my) first senior class, Miss (Kaitlin) Cochran, Miss (Jessica) Mapes, Miss (Renee) Welty, Miss (Brooke) Neuman - we will hate to see them go. They are a class act, they are great people and they are going to make society better. When you can say something like that, it says a lot about these women."
On the pinch-hit grand slam by Alabama's Jazlyn Lunceford:
"I wasn't looking for it. We missed a spot. We had pitched her well up until that point. The ball was supposed to be different, in a different location. But, I take my hat off to her. She hit a mistake, and she hit it hard."
On Hillary Bach's performance in the circle:
"It's going to make her a better person, and a better pitcher. She came in as a thrower and she's leaving the College World Series as a pitcher. She gained an invaluable experience and knowledge of how to pitch, who she is and who she wants to be. She wants to be a leader, she wants to be a great pitcher. There's not a person alive who would say that she didn't take her first steps to achieving that. Hillary Bach, an outstanding individual."
Katie Crabb
On her home run:
"I had a good at bat on my first at bat, and I was really confident after that. I was going in there and I was going to take my hacks. I wasn't going to get cheated. I was just trying to get a base hit, trying to square up to the ball. It worked out pretty well."
Kaitlin Cochran
On Kelsi Dunne's pitching performance:
"She was just placing the ball well. I don't think we were, as a team, aggressive enough at the plate, including myself. She was going up there, throwing strikes and doing her job as a pitcher. We just couldn't get it together, other than Crabby's hit."
On claiming the early lead:
"With (Hillary) Bach in the circle, she had been doing great for us. We thought we could hold it to a 2-0 lead. You can just never underestimate any team at the World Series. You never know what's going to happen."
On reflecting on the past four years:
"We are trying to set a foundation for this team. To bring a title last year was a great experience and we hope to pass it on to the next senior class. We wanted to establish a tradition. That's what Coach (Clint) Myers wanted to do when he came here, and I think he has done just that. We just want to keep it going, we want to establish the same tradition that Arizona or UCLA has."
