|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 4, 2016Patty GassoErin MillerPaige ParkerNicole PendleySydney RomeroOklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma - 7, Michigan - 5 PATTY GASSO: Another very hard-fought game. I think this bracket that we got placed in is -- it's been a hard road. So extremely proud of this group of athletes that came out believing that they could do this. We have and I have the utmost, utmost respect for the University of Michigan and Coach Hutch is a peer of mine that I respect, and that program I respect like no other. They do things the right way, and they fight. You knew it was going to come down to the very finish. There was not a lead that was going to be big enough against them with the mission that they're on. For Paige to hold on the way she did, for our defense to play a fantastic game and for our offense to find a way to score late was the difference. Extremely proud, yet at the same time very respectful of a phenomenal program like University of Michigan. Q. Paige, bottom of the seventh, bases loaded, two outs, full count; what's going through your mind and how do you get that play? PAIGE PARKER: Just to go out there and do whatever I had to do to win that game, and I knew I just had to throw a strike, and I knew my defense would be there, and when the ball came to me, I was just focused on making a good throw over to first. It was just such a hard fought seventh inning and just going out there and doing whatever I could to win the game. Q. Patty, what were you thinking in the seventh? As you said, you knew Michigan was going to come back. Paige has progressed so far this year and become such a dominant pitcher. What were you thinking? PATTY GASSO: Come on, Paige. It was just -- I think anybody who's a Sooner fan, you're just like -- you're just wishing her, rooting for her, to the point where I just stop saying anything to her because I think she's just in her own zone, and we knew the importance, and Michigan knew the importance of this game. It gives a team rest. Otherwise the other team is back here tomorrow playing at noon, which is a tough situation with this bracket. I don't think either team really deserves to come back at noon. But we've got on the good end of that, and I was just kind of hoping, and then I'm just kind of praying. All we could do is just root for her. There's nothing else we can do. She's working her tail off to execute pitches. Q. Coach, did you at all prepare to steal a lot early in the game? PATTY GASSO: I think our game plan was to push the envelope a little bit and really try to be aggressive and make them make plays. We wanted to kind of set that tone, but we've been doing it all year, and it's been pretty effective, and they've been doing a great job of executing the hit-and-runs and the plays that we are calling. That definitely was our game plan, to be very aggressive offensively. Q. Paige, you've faced three of the top hitters in the country on this last three times. Elkins has one RBI in two games, McCleney doesn't get an RBI, and tonight Sierra has that one RBI on that infield hit. What have you brought from each of those three -- facing those three players and have they all meshed together for you? PAIGE PARKER: All three of those players are phenomenal players and phenomenal hitters, and it was just going in and executing the game plan and trying to minimize their impact as best as I could, and just going in with a strong game plan against them and attacking them. Like I said, they're phenomenal hitters, so it's just really executing the game plan to the best of my ability. Q. Sydney, can you talk about some of the emotions surrounding this game playing against your sister? SYDNEY ROMERO: I had to get over the fact that I was playing against my sister. It's tough because she's family but I had to get over it. I was rooting for her but I wasn't at the same time. That was the toughest part. But at the end of the day, I had to play it just like a normal game. Q. Did you talk with her at all before the game? Did you talk with your family about it? SYDNEY ROMERO: We texted each other a good luck text and we chatted a little bit during the game, but that's about it. Q. How bad did you want to throw her out? SYDNEY ROMERO: Oh, so bad. So bad. (Laughter). Q. Sydney and Nicole, your home runs, just talk about what you saw there and how big those were for both of you. SYDNEY ROMERO: I had a game plan on that at-bat and I stuck with it, and it got me a home run. NICOLE PENDLEY: Same. I was just trying to hit the ball hard and try and find the ball in the zone and swing at strikes and just get a base hit. Q. Paige, you had two of those tough innings with runners in scoring position. What do you say to yourself or do to kind of stay composed because I think a few of those at-bats you fell behind, a lot of full count pitches they fouled off quite a few pitches. PAIGE PARKER: Yeah, the top of their lineup is very, very tough, and just going out there and just trying to minimize anything that they do and just try to do my best to get them out and let my defense work behind me. Q. Erin, this team has played really good defense all year and you make one of the best defensive plays. This happens to this team all the time, doesn't it, somebody makes a great defensive play? ERIN MILLER: I think the great thing about this team is there's a different hero, every inning, every game, every pitch, so I think we're all just trying to contribute anyway we can. Q. Patty, what do you think about playing chalk basically? You've faced every tough opponent in this postseason every single game. PATTY GASSO: I didn't get the first part. What do I feel about what? Q. About playing chalk essentially. There's never been any upsets for you to get an easier test. PATTY GASSO: Just whatever comes our way, we talk about it, we're not afraid of anybody. We just know that it's our path and our journey, so whoever comes forward, we're ready. That's all -- I mean, that's all we've been doing. 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
|