2021 WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

June 5, 2021

Giselle Juarez

Mackenzie Donihoo

Oklahoma Sooners

Postgame Press Conference

Oklahoma - 8, Georgia - 0

Q. Great job, G, I thought that was the best you've thrown since, really, I mean, since you first got to OU, so it's obvious you're healthy. Patty talked about great practiced. Can you talk about your stuff?

And, Mackenzie, can you talk about the 24 hours that you had to get ready and how this team's offensive mindset seemed to set up for you and change in this game.

GISELLE JUAREZ: Honestly, our hitters just make me better so just going up against them every day in practice is something that -- like, I have to find new ways and they make me better every day by just like competing against me. So I think that's why I did what I did today.

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I would say Thursday, we weren't ourselves, and we have -- we have no mercy. This is our game on the line. We have to push and push, and we switched it, and turned it on, and it was so much fun.

Q. How did it feel to get back out there today? Did you feel well rested?

GISELLE JUAREZ: I felt really good today. I went out there and had fun, and when they are hyping you up, that's all you want to do is go out there and do your thing and compete for them. So it felt really good today.

Q. Mackenzie, you were perfect at the plate today, obviously had the home run. How good were you feeling in the box, and as kind of being the igniter for the offense today?

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I felt in control of my bat. I knew what I wanted and I knew what she was going to throw me, and we went. So, let's go.

Q. What was this week like for you? Did you feel as good as Patty talked about you looking heading into this? And just what was working for you today?

GISELLE JUAREZ: Yeah, I'd like to think I felt as good as Coach said. I just let it go. Just got out there and competed even at practice, and the same thing today. I was just trying to be in the driver's seat of the game and controlling myself, and just like trusting my defense and my hitters and just getting outs for them.

Q. Your defense, the plays in the fourth and fifth to end it -- or excuse me, the fifth, wasn't to end it -- but that second out that Grace made, how important were those and just talk about those two plays.

GISELLE JUAREZ: Oh, those, super important obviously. But just like really game-changing. We kept the momentum based off those plays and just heads-up plays, and I think that's just something they do every day at practice is just practicing to be heads-up, and they just executed today.

Q. For both of you girls, you now have played two games in the new stadium configuration with the upper deck and the packed stadium. How is the atmosphere different, do you think, with the new look of the venue?

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I don't really pay attention to that. I pay attention to my teammates and the way we keep each other up, and all that stuff doesn't really matter. It's if we are united and together.

GISELLE JUAREZ: I 100 percent agree with that. I know for myself in the top of the sixth, I don't remember -- or bottom or whatever -- I was on the mound, or before the inning had actually started and my teammates got their areas up, and it was kind of cool to just like hear it, like, especially because it is at 100 percent capacity.

But I think it's like what Mackenzie said, just being united and just staying focused on us.

Q. For both of you, after dropping Thursday's game, how does today's performance give you guys the confidence moving forward to win these next three games?

GISELLE JUAREZ: We just have to get back to playing our game, and I think that's what we did in this first game, and we just have to fight, continue to fight, and fight for each other and just understanding that it's fun. It's a grind. And just continue to be fearless and just pay with passion and enjoying every moment when we are out there.

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I would totally agree with G, and it's awesome to have each other's back, because if you have each other's back, no one is going to stop you no matter what.

Q. The team has been hitting well all year but after last game, you struggled and didn't hit the ball as well as you wanted to. How much credit would you give them to today's performance?

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I would say that we were ourselves today. We didn't try too hard. We just went out there and played our game and when we played our game, I feel like we're unstoppable.

Q. It seemed like after the home run in the second inning, it opened the floodgates for you guys. Did you sense that once you hit the home run, everybody relaxed and the at-bats got better after that?

MACKENZIE DONIHOO: I honestly thought it was too high and it wasn't going to go over. It went over and I knew that once we got a run on, we were going to keep pushing, keep pushing, get another run for G because she was pitching a great game and that's all we needed to do was keep pushing and put another run on.