May 27, 2012

Recap |  Final Stats

California Head Coach Diane Ninemire
Opening Statement:
"I would say that this is probably the biggest win in Cal history for softball (in Berkeley) that everyone got to witness today, this team coming out here and beating a very, very strong University of Washington team. Jolene (Henderson) threw every inning of this regional tournament and did an outstanding job. It was a total team effort by defense, by offense - different people coming through throughout the whole journey, and I'm just so proud of their effort and their willingness to stick together as a team and fight through every adversity that we went through the last couple of weeks."

On why it's the biggest win for Cal today (here):
"It's the biggest win here at the University of California because the World Series was in Oklahoma City - so this is the biggest win. It's the first super regional that we've ever won here at Cal, and we've never played in such a large arena as the kind of fan support that we've received over the course of the last couple of weeks. And for this team to be able to play in front of their home fans and feel that excitement and play at home and learn how to play at home because - you have to remember that for the last 20-something years, we've been playing on the road and my season has always been geared up at the beginning of the year. We are always on the road for the first seven weeks to get ready for this moment, so this was a great willingness by this team to be able to bounce back from not being on the road to being home and learning how to play together at home. I just want to say that they did a great job and I'm really proud of them."

On the underclassmen:
"Cheyenne (Cordes) and Danielle (Henderson) in the infield have made tremendous adjustments there in helping us defensively. They only have a handful of errors between the two of them, and that's really helped our defense be the second-best defense in the entire country this year. Then, Breana (Kostreba), in right field, has done an excellent job learning a new position and has brought a strong bat to the plate for us at times. Those three freshmen have really done a great job for us this year."

On Jolene Henderson's helping the team this year:
"We've been able to ride on her shoulders on the mound. She's a tremendous pitcher - she gets better as she pitches more. Last week when we played Arkansas, that was the first time that Jolene threw a doubleheader back-to-back. But I believe as she goes on and she pitches more, you will see that she will get stronger and she'll be more precise and she'll get really tuned up now getting into the College World Series. She also has an excellent counterpart in Valerie Arioto to back her up, and between the two of them I know that they will do a great job on the mound for us. And if our defense stays strong and we get our timely hits we'll definitely be a force to be reckoned with. When Jolene is really on, she's not going to pitch very many pitches to get you out with our type of defense, so when she keeps doing that she keeps getting stronger."

On the hits that got the win:
"It's just, you know, a game of inches - whether it's a pitch missing a spot by a few inches or a hitter staying on a pitch a little longer and driving it, not getting a pop up, it's all about that. It's usually the little things make a difference in the game that turns it around so you just have to stay strong."

Freshman Shortshop Cheyenne Cordes
On her home run:
"I just went up to the plate nice and relaxed, because if you go up there pressing then you normally mess up. I just went up there nice and relaxed, looking for my pitch and she gave me my pitch ... (which was) right down the middle."

Junior Pitcher Jolene Henderson
On her early struggle and effort in this game:
"Well I heard that the fans were starting to get really rowdy. I think we went through a lot of adversity, especially in the first couple of innings, and I think it's just going to make our team so much stronger because we fought through that. Especially in the first inning when Jamia (Reid) came up and made this phenomenal play - which I was so happy about her making. They just came up really big and they fought hard as a team. We fought hard together, and it was a total team effort for this game."

Senior Left Fielder Jamia Reid
On her diving catch to end the first inning:
"I was just really getting pumped up because things weren't going our way. Ooh, I was like `Okay, if anything comes over here, I'm catching it no matter what.' If I'm going on my knees, I'm going on my knees; if I'm diving, I'm diving. It was kind of a line drive, so I just ran really, really hard and took my glove and just caught it ... It wasn't going to drop - I was running fast." UW Head Coach Heather Tarr
Opening Statement:
"Well, I think the worst part about this is that the season is over. The season is over for four great seniors, but I am excited because our team has a lot of youth and for us to actually have two pitchers emerge out of this season, that is exciting for our future. For us to come down here, we kind of put ourselves in the hole, being the 16 seed and having to come down here to play Cal. It is what it is, it is not the ideal setting, but we were ready to compete and today was a great day for us. It is a game of inches and a couple things didn't fall for us, but we competed and that's all we can ask."

On how small the margin of error is in a game like this:
"I think the best thing about the end is that we are not that far from where we want to be and for our young players to have the perspective that it is a game of inches - the ball that Shawna Wright hits down the line gets through and by the diving outfielder. I mean that is a great play, but she is diving down the line with the bases loaded. It shows our team that you can't take things for granted, and it starts with conditioning and your mental training and that are where the inches lie."

On how she thinks Cal will do in the World Series:
"Well, they better win it all. Hopefully, we fought them hard and made them go through some stuff to beat us and that makes them better and allows them the opportunity to go win it."

On whether UW let Cal off the hook, leaving runners on base when P Jolene Henderson was struggling early:
"I mean they have great pitching, and you have to attack them early and you have to keep going and once you kind of let go of the rope and she grabs on, it becomes a tug of war and usually the great pitcher has a way to win those games. She is a great pitcher and we tip our cap."

On hitting today compared to yesterday:
"We were ready to hit today. We were seeing the ball and hitting it better."

Center Fielder Kimi Pohlman
On the ups and downs of the season after starting 32-1:
"Like Coach Tarr said, we have a really young team and I thought it was good for us. I mean it didn't put us in a situation where we wanted to be, but it taught our young girls a lot, and I think down the road, it will make this program stronger. If we can leave that with our lower classman, then that is what is best for the program. It is tough, but this team and this program is going to do amazing things in the future. This season really is a foundation for that."

On summing up her career:
"It is sad that it is over and I am a baby so of course I balled after the game was over. It has been a roller coaster, a lot of ups and a lot of downs, a lot of wins and a lot of losses. It has been an honor to put on this uniform everyday and get to play with great people and it is sad that it is over."

Pitcher Bryana Walker
On facing Cheyenne Cordes when she hit the home run:
"Cordes might not be one of Cal's home run hitters, however, Cal is a Pac-12 school with a stacked lineup one through nine, so something can come from anyone;. Knowing that and playing through the Pac-12 and learning all of those lessons of the strength of the entire lineup helped me. My approach to Cheyenne was that she is going to be a good hitter, she might not put up power numbers, but she has a lot of power. She makes adjustments with each at-bat. So when I was approaching her during that at-bat, I made a mistake and put it over the plate. Like coach said, with it being a game of inches, I was a couple inches off and she hit it out. If I were to put that ball a couple inches away, she doesn't hit it out and it could be a completely different game."

On being in the game until the very end:
"We had a lot of opportunities to score and come back. If I would have put the ball in a different spot, I would have, but even with that pitch, we had a fighting chance throughout the game. They only scored two runs and we were on base consistently throughout the game, so we definitely had the opportunity to come back."

On what the seniors have left the underclassmen:
"Our senior class in 2009 did a great thing in winning a national championship. And this year I have learned so much from all of our seniors. I have to learn how to compete as hard as they have day in and day out. Playing with theses seniors for the past two years has been an awesome experience, and I wouldn't trade a day of it. Just as much as we learn from the game, we learn from our seniors."