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Tulsa vs. Oklahoma NCAA Regional Final Postgame Quotes
5/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 23, 2011
Tulsa Head Coach John Bargfeldt
Opening comment
"I just told the team I was proud of the way they fought. That first game, coming back, you know when you're down to a pitcher that you've been having trouble scoring on just put in a capsule the type of team we have had all year. I knew Jordan (Kinard) was pitching on fumes at the end of that first game. I know her arm wasn't feeling particularly well. So when we went into that second game, we were trying to give her as much innings in front of her before we made the move to go get her. I just told her after the game that, `Shoot, if I would've known you'd throw five innings, I'd have made the move there.' We were just trying to steal some innings because we knew that she was just out there on guts at that point. So, I'm just real proud of the effort. I want to commend Oklahoma. They had a tough loss and they came back. That's the type of game there that's real difficult because of the mental strain that you're on all day long and then whoever jumps on top early, it's real tough to keep the fight. That's obviously a key they were able to get such a big number in that inning there. I still felt like we battled. But, obviously, it was just too much for us to overcome in that second game."
On the momentum of the game
"Yeah, I think the key there is who can get that first run on the board and who can generate something. Both teams went a couple innings, trying to get something going; couldn't get a whole lot going and that first breakthrough, I think is the key. That's when you know there's a definite momentum. The thing that we talked about was just trying to minimize it. Lacey (Middlebrooks) had been confiding in me. You know, she hasn't pitched much down the stretch and she threw a lot of bullpen innings and her hand was tightening up. She was letting me know. There was total communication. What's so neat about it is they wanted, for the good of the team, they wanted the person in there, whoever could do the best job. So she was talking to me and Jordan (Kinard) was talking to me trying to let me know whether they could go or not."
On using Jordan Kinard
"Well about the sixth inning of the first game, she had made the comment that her hand was killing her. I just felt like she had gutted out that game and we had to give her a little time. We had talked about definitely going with Lacey (Middlebrooks). What that does is that anytime you start both Aimee (Creger) and Lacey, it allows us to keep our bats in the lineup. So that was a factor. So that's what we tried to do, see how Lacey would go. We took Aimee out to the bullpen, `Let me know if you could go for a little bit.' But she said she'd like to try it. When you have a pitcher that's 24-3 and says she'd like to try it, you got to let her try it."
On pitching concerns in the second game
"That was my concern after we lost the first game to Oklahoma. We threw Aimee (Creger) back to back in conference play. We started Jordan (Kinard) and she didn't really have it. She gave up some early runs in the conference championship. I didn't know how sharp they would be. I didn't know how long those two could take it but I was impressed with how they gutted it out."
On this season
"That's been our motto. `The best is yet to come' every year. We explain to the team that `You guys are better than last year's team.' The interesting thing to say about Kelly (Chapman) is that she came in and got the start as a freshman, but good athletes kept coming in and kept beating her out. She got beat out her sophomore year, her junior year and didn't get a whole lot of playing time. Here's a senior that comes back and first base is open for her to try and look at the year she has. Just kept after it. I feel like the program has been getting better. We just try to get the type of athletes Oklahoma has. We knew we needed to be more athletic in the field."
Senior First Baseman Kelly Chapman
On the progress of the Tulsa softball program
"I think we've come a long way, especially since our freshman year. We made it to regionals three out of the four years. Every single year we have gotten better and we get further and further. Like our sophomore year was the first time we ever made it to a championship game. Today, we one-upped that and made it to an `if' game. I think that our program and the athletes that we've been getting have been tremendous. We've been able to compete with not only our conference but all the Big 12 schools, and everywhere; that's been a huge part of our success."
On the second game
"Well, when coming out of the first game, we had a lot of confidence since we knew we beaten them once. But we also knew that they'd come back fighting. We weren't really sure who exactly they were going to start in the second game but we knew depending on which pitcher they did start, we'd have to fight either way. We hadn't really seen (Michelle) Gascoigne that often at all, so we didn't make the adjustments."
Senior Pitcher Jordan Kinard
On the potential of Tulsa breaking through as a program
"Definitely. I think so. I know that the girls we're getting next year are just as good as us, if not better than the ones we have now. The pitching staff should be even stronger. We have a girl that will be back next year; she's a lefty, along with Aimee (Creger) and Lacey (Middlebrooks). Those three are all pretty strong pitchers, and along with another year of experience."
On Oklahoma's rally attempt during the first game
"Yeah, obviously, Sammy (Samantha Cobb) made an awesome catch. Her and (Kelly) Chapman both made an awesome catch this weekend. I haven't seen anything like it all year. I mean, those kinds of things happen when you're in the heat of the moment and the game is on the line, people pulled through for us. I wasn't really nervous, but the hits up the middle were my fault. I left them over the plate. Like you said, I was just out there with all my heart, nothing else. It means a lot when your physical ability may not be there but the rest is."
