NCAA Regional: Lipscomb vs. UAB Quotes
5/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 21, 2010
Lipscomb Quotes
Head Coach Kristin Ryman
Opening comment on Friday's win:
"I'm just extremely excited. There's always some nerves that are present when you're playing in your first Regional. I couldn't be more proud of the way we came out and jumped on them early. Any time we score first, it takes the pressure off. It definitely takes the pressure off [pitcher] Whitney [Kiihnl]. We were familiar with UAB already which was a good thing going in. I'm just glad we walked away with a win in our first game."
On how important Whitney Kiihnl has been to the team's success:
"She's been that difference maker. Whitney is that 'next-level' pitcher for us. She's someone that can keep us in the game against anybody we play. Anytime you can have a pitcher like that as a mid-major program it really allows you to compete with those next-level teams. She's only a sophomore and has only continued to get better."
Pitcher Whitney Kiihnl
On if she felt in command the circle:
"Honestly, not really. I was nervous and was like 'please don't hit it' today. I've never been at Regionals so I guess the nerves got to me a little bit."
On the possibility of pitching to Alabama's lineup:
"Alabama is one of the best hitting teams in the nation if not the best. I'm going to have to be confident and just throw my game. If they hit, they hit it. If they don't, they don't. That's the way it goes."
Left fielder Mackenzie Tucker
On Lipscomb's offense:
"We have a very good offense as we showed. We all play our best when we're pumped up but individually relaxed. We get in this mindset that where it doesn't matter who we're playing or what pitcher is throwing that we can prove we're a very good offense."
UAB Quotes
Head Coach Marla Townsend
Opening comment on Friday's loss:
"I am proud of my team for numerous reasons. They came out relaxed. In our conference tournament, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves, but we didn't do that today. I was very proud of their at bats. Their presence at the plate was huge. We had a lot of strikeouts, and we will make some adjustments, but a hand full of those were decent at bats. The fact that they battled back and never gave up was great. We had Sallie (van Kirk) come through with two huge hits, then Kayla Orr hitting the shot after working the full count. You have to give her credit, because she's a tough pitcher to get to a full count. She did a great job of getting ahead, and the defense Lipscomb played kept us out of it. This game is behind us now. Our job is to come out and play two games tomorrow."
On Lipscomb pitcher Whitney Kiihnl:
"If you see her presence out there, she is very impressive. She can get down and find a way to work back. Conference-USA has some very good pitchers, and we have faced (Kelsi) Dunne on a couple of occasions. Ball State has an outstanding pitcher as well. I would say she is one of the top-five pitchers that we have faced. We put the ball in play pretty solidly today. If you look at the assists, they had nine in the infield. Two or three of those may have been easy plays, but the rest were shots left and right. We made them work. We were able to get on top of the ball, but their defense played extremely well. She totally trusted her defense and did a great job of hitting her spots."
On keeping their mindset positive after falling behind early:
"That was definitely a job I had to do. They get those runs early, but they were what I call 'cheap runs'. They were because of miscues or bouncing off the plate, really making us work. We have to trust our at-bats and know we can produce runs. I felt like we did that, but giving them another run late in the game hurt. We have to cut out giving up extra base hits. They had too many extra base hits."
Junior Pitcher Alisha Smith
On falling behind early:
"The pressure is definitely there, but we have seven innings to get the job done. Our team is capable of doing that. We have done it in the past. You have to have faith in everybody and get through it."
Junior Outfielder Sallie Van Kirk
On Lipscomb pitcher Whitney Kiihnl:
"She's a great pitcher. We have seen her before and knew exactly what she was going to throw. She goes up in the zone a lot. I had to tell myself to stay relaxed in the box and just go at her."
