NCAA Softball Tuscaloosa Super Regional- Postgame Quotes
5/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Alabama Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Patrick Murphy
Opening Statement:
"I thought it was a very entertaining game. I think everyone got their money's worth. I always say that at the very least, let's get the tying run at the plate and see what happens. We had the tying and the winning run. Most of the time she's (Marisa Runyon) going to come through. She battled - it was a good fight at the end. I wish we would have done that for the last three innings instead of just the last inning."
On Alexis Osorio's demeanor after Lauren Chamberlain's home run:
"I didn't see anything different. She's always been very focused. I haven't seen the pitch from the game, but I would assume that the second home run was not a good pitch. I don't know. You've got to stop the bleeding. That's a big inning to me - five runs. Usually the team that has the big inning is going to end up winning. Sydney (Littlejohn) did a good job coming in, but you can't give up five to a good team like that, especially in a low-scoring game. She (Osorio) had a no-hitter going up to the top of the sixth."
No. 8 Haylie McCleney, Junior Outfielder
On taking an early lead:
"We wanted to jump out on them early and it was really good that we showed a sense of urgency in the first inning and scored. We should have done more in the early innings and not waited, like coach (Patrick) Murphy said, until the seventh to get something going. We'll learn from it and be better tomorrow. We just have to get people on base and get timely hits. We can't get complacent with a two-run lead or three-run lead or four, or whatever. We just have to keep scoring as much as we can in every inning we can."
On shifting gears from protecting a lead to trying to make up a deficit:
"I don't think that really anything changes. You want to come out with a sense of urgency every inning and that same mindset. Nothing should change. You want to attack every pitch of every inning, whether it's the first, second or seventh inning, fourth inning, or whatever it is."
Oklahoma Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Patty Gasso
Opening Statement:
"What a great game and great atmosphere - it was exciting throughout. I am very proud of this team and how they stuck with it until the end. We were starting to run out of outs and we could feel that. We were really trying to crack the code on (Alabama pitcher Alexis) Osorio. She's really, really good and was very effective and tough to figure out. (Alabama is) a tough team. I felt like I was at the Women's College World Series, without question, with the atmosphere and intensity - you could feel it. That's fun though for anyone who was a part of it. It was quite a game."
On why she used pinch hitter Callie Parsons in the sixth inning:
"Callie is our postseason queen. She may not have seen as many opportunities throughout the season, but I feel comfortable putting her in in this situation because she has been there and done that. She's a senior and knew what we wanted. That really started the rally - just trying to get a leadoff runner on was what we were all about, especially towards the end of the game, knowing how important it was. If we could get somebody on, we were one swing away as Lauren (Chamberlain) proved. Then, it just kind of opened up for us."
No. 12 Callie Parsons, Senior Outfielder
On her hitting approach against Alexis Osorio:
"I'm just trying to do my job - to find a gap through the middle of the infield and hit the ball through it. I got a good piece of it."
No. 44 Lauren Chamberlain, Senior First Baseman
On what was different in her approach on her home run:
"She (Osorio) is good, she's really good. She had me the first two at bats. I was just thinking, 'she has to be getting tired at some point.' I tried to lay off the balls and not do too much, but I also knew that she was going to come bring me my pitch. I think by just simplifying it - I was thinking too much my first two at bats -I tried to keep it simple and just get a good pitch."
On Osorio's composure down the stretch:
"We had been having really good at bats and challenged her. I think a lot of things weren't falling our way. We had a couple of hard hits and took her deep in the count a lot. There was nothing that I could really tell. She had been doing a good job of holding herself up for sure and it's hard to tell. She held her composure. Knowing the game, I think that the later it gets, the tougher it gets for a pitcher."
