|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 2, 2016Kelly Inouye-PerezPaige McDuffeeMysha SatarakaOklahoma City, Oklahoma Auburn - 10, UCLA - 3 THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. At this time we have UCLA on the dais. At this time we'll get general comments from Coach and then open it up for questions. KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: Well, that wasn't our game plan, losing Game 1, but I can simply say that at the beginning of the tournament I mentioned that it's the team that's able to settle in and play their game the quickest that is going to be most successful. We didn't play our game today, but the best thing we have going is it is a double-elimination tournament, have the ability to fight back and I have great faith in this team, the individuals, coaching staff, I have great faith that we're going to be able to pull together and play our game, and when that happens you're going to be able to see UCLA softball, and I'm excited for that. Q. Kelly, were you surprised how they started in the first inning? KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: Nothing about this year has been easy. You know, we've dealt with a lot of adversity, so surprised would never be a word I would use with this team. The most impressive part of 2016 is not what happens but what they do next, so I'm very excited, and I can't wait to be able to see what they do next. This team has been very resilient. This team hasn't been perfect. This team is here as a top-eight team because they fought their way to get here. I believe with your backs against the wall is when you kind of kick in with experience, and our program has experience in this position. We've lost the first game and gotten to the championship and actually won it. So it is possible. You have to be able to put yourself in the position to understand how you're going to get there, and that's all I talked about. Where we are is we dropped game one. Where we are going to go is we're going to get after the next one and our plan is to do it together. Q. Paige what was it like taking over in the first inning? What was the vibe on the team? PAIGE McDUFFEE: Like always, just trying to take it pitch by pitch. We didn't really get the outcome that we wanted, but we're just going to keep our same process and get after it the next time. Q. Paige, does it get in your head after you hit a bad error and then you see other batters be hit in the first inning, does that add to the pressure of throwing your pitch? PAIGE McDUFFEE: No, I try to just separate everything, so move on to the next pitch. If something happens, then just -- I'm 100 percent into the next pitch. Q. Mysha, your home run wasn't enough to kind of serve as a rallying point for this game, but is it something you can use moving forward against Florida State? MYSHA SATARAKA: Yeah, you know what, just all around, it just wasn't the greatest game. Yeah, I got the hit. We're just kind of going to learn from what happened today, take it, and move on to the next game because that's all we can do now. Q. Coach, is there anything you can even explain how you can start a game like that? I mean, I know it's probably difficult to do, but I'm just curious. KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: Explain? Q. How you start a game like that. KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: Have you ever played? Yeah, so those are those things that happen that are unexplainable. What we've done is prepare, and literally success is preparation, and preparation means opportunity. We didn't prepare for the game to go that way, but in athletics sometimes those things happen. Like I say, the most important thing is not what happens but it's what you do next, and you've got to learn how to have a short-term memory. Ugly, straight up. Explaining it? I believe my pitchers and my players are better. As far as being in athletics you've got to be in control so you can execute what you came here to do, and like I said, I'm going to continue to say it, I believe, and they know there's no need to be Captain Obvious, we did not come out and play our game. There is no reason to look backwards. We've got to be able to figure out what we're going to do next and fully commit to that and take the Game 1 pitch at a time. We're here because we have done that, and like I said, I'm excited to be able to get out there again. Q. You talk about what's up next. You have Florida State up next. Another team that didn't really get to play its game plan, seven errors in its game. What do you take from watching them play against Georgia and what do you expect to see against them tomorrow? KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: You know, the best part about it is I've been on this stage for so long as a player, as an assistant, as a head, and what happens is irrelevant. It's the team that continues to battle. It's a double-elimination tournament for that reason. You can have an off game and still be a champion, but you better get really committed to what you're going to do next. So it's absolutely possible, but the best thing that I love about this, and a big part of why I wanted all of them to get out there and play is feel it, and I told them, in a week I want you to be able to look back on this tournament and have no regrets, so you've got to go for it, and that's athletics. You've got to be able to fully commit to what you're doing. You've got to go for it, and hope that your preparation, when that opportunity comes is going to pay out and it leads to success, and that's all we can do. But as athletes you're here on the stage, you've got to go for it, you've got to enjoy this opportunity to be a top-eight team and have that chance to win a championship. So it's not over. Florida State, UCLA, we're backs against the wall, I expect an absolutely outstanding game because we're playing to be able to continue our season, so we're going to play it one pitch at a time. Q. Coach, having played Auburn the last two years, can you compare this Auburn team to last year's Auburn team? KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: No. Last year was last year. This year was this year. Q. Mysha, did you sense any jitters or any kind of butterflies from yourself or your team before the game or kind of as the first inning continued on? MYSHA SATARAKA: I don't think it was jitters or butterflies, I think we just didn't come out how we wanted to. Like Coach said, it happens, and like I said, we take what we learn from that, and we're moving on to the next game. Q. Coach, as the only Pac-12 team in the tournament, do you feel like there's added pressure on you because of that to win? KELLY INOUYE-PEREZ: Not at all. This is not about conferences. This isn't about pressure. This is about an opportunity to be able to have a chance to win the championship. I want my Bruins and I want my hope watching this and being a part of this, your goal is to be able to play your best when your best is needed, and it doesn't matter where you're from or how you got here, you're here. So I want you to look at this opportunity, and I want my Bruins to look at this opportunity as an outstanding experience and have no regrets. May not be perfect, but you'd better go for it and stick together. That's what college athletics is all about, and it teaches you about those things that you're going to face in the real world when it's not a game. Right now it's just a game. It's a fun game. Where we came from, I'm proud of the PAC because they prepared us to be able to get to this moment, but I think for right now we're representing UCLA softball, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Q. Paige and Mysha, to hear your coach fired up right now saying this is not over for you guys what do for you guys as players out on the field? PAIGE McDUFFEE: I mean, I think it just exudes confidence. We all know, like I keep saying, we just take it pitch by pitch, and like Coach said, we have to have a short-term memory, and I mean, we know our backs are against the wall and we just have to fight and string together and just go for it, so it just gives us confidence, and we just know we have to go for it. MYSHA SATARAKA: I forgot the question, sorry? Q. What kind of confidence does your coach have in you guys moving forward and what does that do for you as a player? MYSHA SATARAKA: Coach always has confidence in us and we're going to take that -- we've been in this position before, dropped the first game, so we're just going to come back tomorrow, get a good workout in come Saturday and go for it. That's all you can do. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|