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NCAA WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIESMay 29, 2014Peyton GranthamPatrick MurphyJadyn SpencerJackie TrainaOKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA Alabama: 6 THE MODERATOR: Here with Alabama. To my right we have Head Coach Patrick Murphy, Jaclyn Traina, Jadyn Spencer and Peyton Grantham. We will begin with an opening statement by Coach. COACH MURPHY: Thanks for being here. I was worried after she gave up the home run to Pendley in the first and I thought their crowd would get into it, and after that it was Jaclyn Traina. Thought she did a really good job against a very good hitting team. They're a dangerous team, they take their cuts and every time they swing you hold your breath. Our freshmen have been coming through the past three or four weekends and tonight again, Runyon did it and so did Peyton. It's a great start for us for the 2014 World Series. Q. Jackie, can you talk about pitching around Chamberlain in particular? You gave up only one hit but looked like most of your walks looked like you selectively did that. JACLYN TRAINA: She is a great hitter and I was nibbling at the plate and she was going to swing and if she got on by a walk that was okay. I mean she's a great hitter and I wasn't going to let her do any damage, so I was nibbling at the plate seeing my boundaries. Q. Peyton, the home run, the pitch, how did you approach that? PEYTON GRANTHAM: Coach has been telling us all week to keep it simple and I was trying to see the ball big, and she got me in the first at‑bat with the inside stuff, so she had me with 2 strikes and I saw the changeup big and went with it. Q. Jadyn, after her home run I guess you're up 2 runs and you have a chance to blow it open. Were you looking for that opportunity to not have a close game for a change? JADYN SPENCER: I just think everyone at that point you don't let up. Oklahoma is great team and you can't really sit on a 2‑run lead like that. So I think everyone in the lineup was trying to pile it on and come out with a win tonight. Q. Coach, you mentioned when Jackie gave up the home run in the first inning you were worried but how worried were you and did you feel like she was going to turn it around and obviously she did. COACH MURPHY: Yeah, I think a big turning point was when Chamberlain walked and Pendley came up again and it was 2‑0, we called time‑out and I could tell by her look she wasn't fazed and I don't think she was worried, and she got to 3‑0 and then came back and struck her out and I thought that was a huge moment for us to get the momentum back to us. Sit down a really good hitter. Q. The reaction after you gave up the second run to go up 2‑1 on that error, what was that like? JACLYN TRAINA: I had no worries. I went to our infield and I said don't worry about it we're going to get some more and I knew they had my back and I had theirs and things like that happen in a game. We just learn from it and move on. Q. Have you ever thought about telling Jackie it's the second inning at the start of the game? Seems like that's only her trouble spot, early. COACH MURPHY: Tomorrow she'll spend like 3 more minutes in the bullpen and maybe it will feel like the second inning. Q. Coach, you mentioned how the crowd‑‑ you were worried about the crowd getting into it. How much, pulling back on 2012, the rain game you guys went through and Jackie can maybe touch on that as well. Give us the sense of what it's like to be that other team playing on a neutral site National Championship with an asterisk and after that Peyton, your experience doing this the first time on the big stage? COACH MURPHY: All of us would love if the World Series was 45 minutes from Tuscaloosa but this is a great site and it belongs here. If Oklahoma makes it, everybody has to deal with that. They're a very good program; they've been here nine times so I think everybody is used to that. I don't think the 2012 ‑‑ I thought the promo was good at the beginning but once the game starts half my team‑‑ this is the first time, 9 of the 18 girls, first time they've been here, so it's a whole new experience for half the team. Once the game goes you don't even remember what happened two years ago. So I don't think it was that big of a deal but maybe Jackie has a different opinion. JACLYN TRAINA: Every time you step out there it's a great feeling and when I was out there it felt good, and I remembered what it felt like and I think that helped me in this game because I remembered what it felt like. The crowd was great and the team, I could feel their momentum in the dugout as well and I could feed off that. I knew they had my back, so it was easy for me to go out in the circle like that. PEYTON GRANTHAM: Being my first time here, we first pulled up I was like, wow, it was kind of overwhelming but it's like he said, once you get on the field it's all the same. You focus on the game and all the people there, you don't notice them, and it's been an awesome experience so far. Q. And you hit a home run so! PEYTON GRANTHAM: Yeah. Q. Coach, talk about the first win. COACH MURPHY: Definitely huge. We have been on the other side of that many, many times, 7 years. It was a long time coming. Once you do it the first time it makes it easier to stay in the winning bracket. You don't want to fight back on Saturday and Sunday. It helps on the pitching staff and everybody. Today was hot, Jackie came in after warming up and she goes "Man, it's hot out there." And we started about 8:50, I think. The heat takes a toll on you and the timing of the events and everything. It's a big advantage, I think, to win the first game. Q. You don't see many ball caps like you wear, is there anything behind wearing the baseball hat? PEYTON GRANTHAM: I just like it, I think it's easier playing and I played baseball until I was 14 years old so I was used to playing in a hat. Q. How do you feel about playing another SEC team and if you're going to play another SEC team are you glad it's someone you haven't seen? COACH MURPHY: No, I would rather play someone we haven't seen. We know their kids, it's a veteran team, I think they have five or six seniors that play. We absolutely love what Rachel has done there, classy team, they do things the right way. She's built it from the ground up. I think it's a Cinderella story, they have been so close the last few years and to get it done at UCLA is remarkable. I think it's going to be a great game, we respect the heck out of them and SEC scheduling this year, you don't play four of the teams in the league and it was them and Tennessee. We could have played Tennessee right now, so that was going to be a little different, too, but I think it's going to be a great game and their pitcher is on a roll, too. Q. Thoughts on who you're going to pitch tomorrow? COACH MURPHY: I'll think about it for a little bit. Q. Can you talk about the SEC winning all three games today, all three that they were in? How far the league has come. COACH MURPHY: Kentucky finished 7th, I believe, and I don't know if anybody thought they could go out to UCLA and lose the first game and come back, win 2 in a row at UCLA. That says a lot about our league, I think. It's just strength from the top to the bottom has been very good the last several years. Tim always does a great job and Georgia had a great year, always do, and Ralph and Karen were close, every year it's close, top to bottom. The very first game this year, 'Ole Miss went down to Florida and beat them 2‑0, 'Ole Miss is home and Florida is here. It's like you can't take a week after, because whoever you are playing could beat you, and I think it's prepared all three teams for this. THE MODERATOR: Thanks, guys. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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