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NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESJune 1, 2018Rachel GarciaKelly Inouye-PerezBubba NicklesTaylor PackOklahoma City, Oklahoma UCLA - 6, Florida - 5 THE MODERATOR: This is the Game 6 press conference featuring the Bruins of UCLA. We're joined by head coach Kelly Inovye-Perez and Bubba Nickles, Taylor Pack, and Rachel Garcia. Rachel, talk about your mindset. You got down early, but you've just triumphed through that game. The mental toughness and fortitude you've showed to get through and finish that game, what was your mindset after being down four, getting the lead and finishing the game? RACHEL GARCIA: I'm not going to lie, it was tough finding that strike zone. I know Taylor and I were talking it over, but UC had my back, and I had the Perez sisters in my corner just behind me and just being able to tell me to relax and just be me and have fun. And I knew my team had my back no matter what. Q. Rachel, do you get a sense that no matter what's going on, your team has that big inning in them? The last couple of games they had a couple innings that put you in a totally different situation, and you were able to finish the game out? RACHEL GARCIA: I'm very confident in this team. Once somebody starts it out -- I mean, I think it was Maddy J. who started out with getting that first run -- Kylee got the (indiscernible) and then we just kept rolling and kept passing the bat. I think once someone gets it started, we were on fire. Q. Bubba, what is it about postseason, whether it be in the junior championships or here in the NCAA World Series, talk about that big home run, and what is it like with you in postseason? BUBBA NICKLES: You know, for sure, this is the biggest tournament that I've ever played in, and the crowd's electric. Just having my teammates have my back and they're supporting me. We kind of just stick to ourselves, and I feel like that's what's helped me get through postseason is to not make it bigger than what it is, just know it's the same game on a different field, different time of the year. Q. Taylor, talk about that home run? Your third home run on the biggest stage of your life? TAYLOR PACK: I mean, I got down early in the count, and I just like stepped back and I took a deep breath. I know I've been preparing for this all three years that I've been here, so I was nervous, but I knew I had nothing to lose here, so I just kind of put everything I had into that at-bat and I tried to do everything I could for the team. Q. Were you looking for a certain pitch or certain location? TAYLOR PACK: To be completely honest? I was just looking for the ball. Q. And you found it? TAYLOR PACK: Yes. Q. Two nights in a row you guys are down 4-0, you get a big three-run home run and complete a big comeback. When you get not just one, but two of those two nights in a row, does it feel like a team of destiny type of situation? KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: A team of destiny? I think this team is definitely on a mission. That started a long time ago. I'm so proud of them because the way they're doing it in the biggest of situations is they're being authentically the best Bruins they can be. They're not making it bigger than it is. I was talking about just Bubba. At one point the pitcher started to kind of lose it a little bit, and I think everyone could feel it. I looked to Bubba, and I was like, you know, and she looked back at me, and she was like: I've got it, Coach. I'm in control. She may be out of control, and that as a coach just makes you feel like there are some really powerful things going on. They are in control, and they believe that they're prepared. They stick together. Clearly they're contagious. I think that is a very powerful word for this team, which is why you see things in bunches. We're down by four again, and we almost joked about the fact that she had a perfect game going and we're about to break it up. Normally talked about the fact that she struck out like eight of us in a row. But the language was this is perfect. It's going to be a perfect storm. She thinks she got us. And Kinsley put the ball in play, and we celebrated like we won the game, but that's all it took. And then Kylee senior came up, and she's just a leader. Kylee's a leader. She said, watch this, I'm going to make her handle the ball, and she did that. And I think from there she put the pressure back on them even with the four-run lead. Because here we come. So to answer your question, you know, destiny, this team's on a mission. We're not going to be done until we get literally down to what our goal is, which is to be the last team standing. We know we have to go through the best to be able to do it, and tonight Florida's an outstanding team, outstanding program, and they battled, but we knew that. We knew they were going to throw punches, and I told the girls, we're going to throw punches, they're going to throw punches, but who is going to be the one? I can't wait to see who is going to throw the knockout punch. And Taylor threw the knockout punch, but this one end up being the big difference. That home run gave Rachel the ability to not have to be so perfect with a very potent lineup. Then on the flip side, Rachel Garcia has carried this team. Carry is too strong a word. We've been very offensive throughout the season, but she's carried a lot of the burden, and it's so awesome to see a team have a pitcher's back like that. She missed. I told her, I'll be straight up, I'm calling pitches. It's not even about -- I give Florida credit, they hit her misses. But what she did afterwards is she got better and she got back to being Rachel, and you got to see her finish strong. Once again, it's not what happens, but what you do after it, and I'm so proud of Rachel and this team. Q. You made a change at catcher tonight. Is that a routine thing where you go back and forth or was there something that you thought was a favorable match-up there? KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: As a Coach there are times where you make moves that are good and there are times you make moves where people question and write about it, what are you doing? It's part of the game. Taylor has been a big part of our lineup, and so has Paige Halstead. They've done a great job going back and forth. It's not a complete, consistent routine. But tonight I knew that we were going to go, what I would say, at-bat for at-bat and stick for stick. Taylor does hit the right ball well. She does hit all pitches well, so I put her behind the plate for that, and great things came from that. Q. Rachel, Coach said you got back to being Rachel. I think throughout your career so far you've drawn a lot of comparisons to one of your other coaches. But what makes Rachel Rachel, and not Rachel trying to be Lisa? RACHEL GARCIA: There is a quote I always go by, and it's how you -- not how you start but how you finish. And I always, go up to people and going off that quote because it is what pushes me to get better throughout the game. It's not how I start, but it's how I want to finish. And that's what I mostly look up to. Q. How do you feel after persevering through two muddy nights in a row, throwing a complete game? How much are you looking forward to this day off tomorrow? RACHEL GARCIA: Actually, my body feels pretty good. This weather, I think it's great. There are pros and cons to it, but the heat's actually not bad. But, yeah, the day off tomorrow does sound pretty great. Q. Rachel and Bubba, you both had big walks in that five-run rally. Were you consciously trying to work her deep into the count? Did you sense she was losing a little bit of control at that time? RACHEL GARCIA: I think before that at-bat I went up to Bubba and told her my game plan, and I was looking for something high and in, and didn't get it. So... BUBBA NICKLES: Following off Rachel's walk, I saw how she was telling me she's kind of out of control, so I kind of took advantage of that, and I was trying to take as many as I could. If she got ahead I was going to start swinging. But I was going to let her try to get me on. Q. For the players and even Coach afterwards. Talk about your fans. No matter what the score is, you've been behind, but these two nights they've been loud regardless of the score. How much does that help you stay even when things aren't going your way? Start with the players. BUBBA NICKLES: We love it, because the alumni, who are mainly our fans out there, they've been the ones that have been there since the beginning of the season. They've even told us multiple times that this is a team they think is going to take it all. They support us 110 percent. We love having the support not only on the field but off the field. They love everything we do, and we love them too. TAYLOR PACK: Yeah, I think having the alumni out there and being our biggest fans, we know they're people who have been where we've been right now. So having been out there, yelling for every single pitch really fires us up in the dugout. RACHEL GARCIA: I think being able to be on this field and look up into the stands and see all the alumni, for them also being here on this stage, I think is also a huge thing to look up to because they have our back and we have theirs. KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: We call it the Bruin (indiscernible), and a big part of it is what they're saying. It's family, it's friends. We have people from our administration. We're fortunate. We've been to Oklahoma, we even have friends from Oklahoma that come to continue to support us which is so nice. But the main energy is coming from that alumni group. A big part of being a Bruin is we take pride in our Bruin family, that you have such great experience that you want to come back, and it's very real. At our Super Regional we had close to 62 alumni that came out for our Super Regional, which is a powerful message. And there are so many of them that have flown out to be a part. That's our history and tradition. A big part of it is how special and unique it is to be here, to be able to experience this. I told the girls tonight, you could feel the pressure. All of us could feel the pressure of this game. It's such a privilege to be a part of something that means so much. Everybody truly enjoys that, but that is a strain for us that allows us to feel loose. The girls feel it. It makes them believe. We've had so much success because we're fortunate as a program, but it's a big part of what being a Bruin is. It's not just a commitment for playing softball, it's a commitment for life, and we take pride in that. Q. Coach, you're still down I think 4-1 when Kirk had Jordan tag on the bow out, the close play? KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: Yeah, it was a close play. Q. Is being aggressive in that situation a part of who you are? KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: We've been aggressive, and you're right, it wouldn't have been a good thing if she got thrown out at the dish right there. But we have been aggressive. It's been something that I said from the beginning of this season is that we are going to be aggressive, we are going to take risks, and we're not going to fear failure and put us in a position to be able to do that. Once again, I think the best part of this job is you can be the greatest coach in the world or you can not be smart at times. But my athletes, I'm letting them play, and what I love about this season is we have done phenomenal things. We've put up great numbers because they're playing ball, I trust them. I trust their instincts. Are we perfect? No. But we're here to win. And when you're here to win, you don't fear failure. You go for it. At the end of the day it ended up being a big run for us. Critical run. Q. Rachel, you knew Sophia growing up; is that correct? Can you talk about your friendship and what it was like to face a childhood friend on this stage? KELLY INOVYE-PEREZ: Not anymore. RACHEL GARCIA: Yeah, we go way back. I think we started out on our first rec ball team called Killer Bees. It was a pitcher-catcher duo. This is when I was figuring out if I wanted to be a pitcher or anywhere on the field, so we'd always flop roles on the team. We grew up together. In high school we played each other. It's always been our goal to be on this stage. And so to be able to see so much from the same area as me, because it's not a very well known area, because to be able to see all of us out here, it's great for all of us and our hometown. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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