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NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESMay 30, 2013Victoria HaywardKaitlin InglesbyKimberlee SouzaHeather TarrOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA NEBRASKA – 3 THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by Washington's head coach, Heather Tarr, and student‑athletes Victoria Hayward, Kaitlin Inglesby, Kimberlee Souza, and Kelli Suguro. We'll start with an opening comment from Coach and open the floor for questions. COACH TARR: We didn't quite expect that to be that much of a tough offensive game, but credit to Nebraska's pitching staff. I thought they threw a great game, and we fortunately found a way to come back and win that game. It was great to see both Bryana and Kaitlin work together again today, and I can't say enough about just the clutch performance for Victoria to get on base for us to score that tying run; then Kimberlee to do what she needed to do to end the game. Q. Kimberlee, can you just talk about what was your mindset going up to the plate on that last at‑bat? When you're rounding the bases and you saw your team there waiting for you, just what was going through your mind? KIMBERLEE SOUZA: Well, first of all, being at the World Series is a dream I've always had, and before that I had a little talk, Coach Tarr talked to me and calmed me down, told me get a good pitch and get up there and hit it, and that's what I did. Q. Kimberlee, were there anything you saw in your first at‑bat against Lockman that you had in mind when you were walking up to the plate that last time? KIMBERLEE SOUZA: Well, I just knew I needed to be aggressive and get a good pitch and hit it. Q. Kimberlee, a couple at‑bats earlier in the game you had runners on base and didn't get to hit. You mentioned talking to Coach before the at‑bat. Was there a frustration level maybe not coming through when you had a couple of opportunities earlier? KIMBERLEE SOUZA: I wouldn't say frustrated. But it's a seven‑inning game. We went to eight, and we're going to play it until the end. Q. Coach, you talked about clutch hitting yesterday, and here you are with the biggest clutch hit you could get in the game. Could you just talk about that? With the triple and the bunt in the inning before that too? COACH TARR: Well, the game that we're used to playing and the conference that we come from, comes from being able to pitch well, play great defense and get that timely hitting. So our team's somewhat used to that. I was a little bit nervous today because we didn't look that great offensively, but like Kim said, if you go to the last out and the teams become really good at going to the last out. Victoria getting on third base there with that hit to start that inning off was huge, obviously. And then putting the bunt down and executing for Victoria to score obviously kept us alive. And then Kimberlee making the adjustment to hit that ball like she did was obviously clutch. Q. Kaitlin, can you talk first of all about getting that early home run to get the team the early lead and then coming in and the pitch that got away that allowed the game to be tied? KAITLIN INGLESBY: Well, I knew I needed to be aggressive, and they weren't going to give me many strikes, so when I saw that one coming, I knew that was the one I needed to capitalize on. Luckily I connected well. Coming in, pitching, I was a little hesitant, and that showed when that ball got away, and that was completely my fault. I just knew that we were going to come back, and our defense and our hitting was going to carry us back in, so they did a great job. Q. Coach Tarr, you mentioned you didn't expect this to be as tough an offensive game. When were Nebraska's pitchers more formidable, or was it something on your end that you needed to do well? COACH TARR: I thought that we offensively would match up well with Tatum, and I thought we took some walks and we got on base. But she really got tough when she needed to be tough, so credit to her. I was hoping that we'd come through in some of those situations. Had enough of them. Of course when they brought Lockman in it was a different look, and she found a way to get a couple of our righties out right away, and they figured that out. I expect more out of our team, but credit to Nebraska for pitching tough. Q. Victoria, obviously earlier in the game you had some opportunities to put some distance between the teams, but y'all weren't able to take advantage of it. What do you think it says about your squad that you still found a way to be able to come up in the end to be able to win a game like this? VICTORIA HAYWARD: I think it says a lot about our perseverance. We obviously struggled through those innings having the bases loaded a couple of times, but we were getting those runners on base. And we knew eventually we'd get that clutch hit to win it Q. Coach Tarr, you mentioned your pitchers worked really well together and they've done that a lot this year. When you've been here in the past you've had to rely a lot more on one arm. What's it like having two to count on this year? COACH TARR: Well, we have more than two. But the two that we're using primarily obviously you have to make decisions, and we try to make the best decisions for the team to put them in the best position to win. I thought Bryana threw decent. She gave them three freebies pretty much in the first inning, and they capitalized on it, which was disappointing. But it's fun to be able to have two to work because at this point in time in college softball it's tough to just ride one. Q. Victoria, can you take us through the seventh inning there with what you saw when you hit the ball off the bat, and what your thoughts were when the squeeze was on? VICTORIA HAYWARD: Well, I hadn't been getting too many good pitches to hit earlier in the game, and so I knew that she didn't want to walk in a run for the potential for our big home run hitters to come up and win the game there. So I knew I had to capitalize on any pitch that I could square up. And when she put on the squeeze, you always get a little giddy and excited knowing that it's coming, but she's a great bunter, and I knew I had 100% faith she would get it down. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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