May 9, 2013
Tennessee Co-Head Coach Ralph Weekly
Opening statement …
“Well, I first want to start off and thank the University of Kentucky. What a beautiful facility they have, and what it’s going to be when they finish. They have been great hosts. I just told Leslie Claybrook, who runs softball for the SEC that these teams here and the one’s that aren’t here are amazing. I mean, every game is a battle. I am proud of our kids. I am proud of how they fight. We have had to fight ever since we have started SEC play. I mean, every game is a fight and the competition is great here in this league. I also want to give credit to Bev Smith and South Carolina, they are a great team and they gave us a tough battle tonight.”
On scoring first and getting ahead early in the game …
“Yeah, we did. We are a team. Obviously, the pitching and the offense has to be together. With everything we went through last weekend with the weather and the travel, and with all of that stuff, we didn’t want to be playing the blame game. Missouri deserved to win last weekend. They played outstanding. They have a great club and we had a chance to beat them up there. It was just a long weekend and we just wanted to get back on track. We had won I think 19-straight games and then lost a one-run game to Arkansas, and then we had rain-outs with Arkansas and then we went to Missouri and we sat around all day trying to get those games in and we ended up playing three games in 19 hours, which is kind of unheard of. But, we got it done and we crowned a champion in Florida, and they are deserving. I am just glad we won tonight.”
#13, Ellen Renfroe, P
On her performance in the circle …
“(Co-Head Coach) Karen (Weekly) called a great game and Hannah (Akamine) did a great job behind the plate. I don’t think a lot of people give catchers enough credit. It takes talent back there. She frames the ball and has confidence back there plus having a few pitches working tonight combined for a great game.”
On her offense putting up three runs in the first inning …
“We talk about this a lot. It takes a lot of pressure off the defense as a whole. Not necessarily just pitching, but also the defensive players all around. Not that we can take anyone lightly, but it allows us to relax a little bit more and gives us confidence especially knowing we can keep putting runs on the board.”
#27, Lauren Gibson, 2B
On playing Missouri tomorrow in the semifinals …
“We just played them last weekend. Obviously, they have good hitting and a great pitching staff, so going into it we know we are facing a really good team.”
On Missouri pitcher Chelsea Thomas …
“Chelsea is a really good pitcher. She comes out and pitches her game. She attacks low pitches with changeups, but we don’t know what she is going to throw at us.”
South Carolina Head Coach Beverly Smith
Opening statement …
“First I’d like to thank the University of Kentucky and your staff. I thought they hosted a great SEC Tournament. Tonight we ran into a tough Tennessee team. They hit in the first inning early and we never recovered from that. I’m really proud of my team, I’m proud of the way we fought to get into the tournament and certainly the way we fought when we here.”
On her outlook on the NCAA Tournament …
“Well, we’ll certainly find out on Sunday when the committee announces, no one ever knows. What I told my team, you know it was a big day when we had a midweek doubleheader and won and I said with these wins we are postseason eligible and it is how we finish out the season is how the committee is going to talk about us, in our last 10 games as one of the criteria. I think in the last 10 games we are worthy of being on the board and being talked about. What ultimately happens, we’ll see, but I think we’ve done everything we could for the committee to talk about us and select our team.”
On the improvement she has seen from her team …
“I think our team, this is my third season, Samie (Garcia) came in my first year and we laugh sometimes when we talk about our at bats and practices year one. But, I really think we have continued to see this team grow throughout the season and I like the mentality of this team. I like the way we come and fight. We’ve talked all season about being relentless competitors, and I think this team has really bought in and to me they’ve handled a lot of adversity. They’ve kept fighting and they really have become relentless competitors so like I said earlier, I’m really proud of this team and what they’ve accomplished.”
#12, Sammie Garcia, SS
On how USC played after a rough first inning …
“I felt like we were stepped back. We didn’t really go after them when they punched us in the first inning, and I felt like we needed to be more aggressive at the plate. After that first inning I thought we played really good defense and backed up Julie (Sarratt). Hitting wise we need to be more aggressive at the plate and get our pitch and really try to hit it hard on the ground.”
On hopefully solidifying USC’s spot in NCAA Tournament by beating Kentucky …
“I think we definitely made a presence here. We did not want to come out here and lose the first game, and I think getting the win from Kentucky is a great step towards getting noticed from the NCAA committee. I thought we did really well here.”
