OU v. Lousiana Tech Postgame Quotes

Oklahoma Softball
Sophomore Catcher Whitney Ellis

On her offensive progression:
“I would say something's clicked for me. I've been putting my work in and getting my swing right. I feel like I'm seeing the ball finally. I feel like it's coming in like a beach ball right now so that's good.”

On her performance today:
“Today I was just on fire. I just had a good day and couldn't have asked for better. I got my three hits and one didn't go my way, but I don't think it could get much better.”

Head Coach Patty Gasso

On how the season is going so far:
“I think we're improving. We're going to continue to get better. Some of these inexperienced athletes are getting opportunities and really stepping up and stepping forward. I've got Erin Miller in the leadoff and I really like what she's doing there right now. Our lineup is starting to take place and I like what the offense is doing. Our defense is very strong but we have to be even sharper. We let some balls fall today and that's me giving Georgia (Casey) an opportunity to play a little shortstop so I can get Javen Henson at second. Some of that stuff though is inexcusable; we can't let balls fall like that. Kelsey (Stevens) was okay, giving up four base on balls and two of those got around to score, yet she still got eight strikeouts which is something we were happy to see. We still have work to do. We're a work in progress and I think we're starting to build momentum. I liked our offense today, though. They were really clicking on all cylinders and everybody in the lineup did something successful for us to win.”

On the lineup:
“Erin (Miller) should set the table for your 2, 3 and 4 [hitters] and Georgia shows you the power she has, Whitney is showing you what kind of power she has. If you want to really talk about table-setters, they're at the bottom of the lineup so that they can get themselves on for Erin, Lauren (Chamberlain) and Shelby (Pendley). We just don't want you to have an opportunity to throw around Lauren. To throw around Lauren you get to Shelby, to throw around Shelby you get to Georgia to throw around Georgia you get to Whitney. The goal is to not give a pitching staff a break. The break they get is when you get to maybe our slappers but if they're performing they should, that's not a break. It's starting it all over again. That's really where our table-setters begin and roll it back over to the top of the lineup. I know that sounds backwards but it's something that's worked for us in the last couple of years.”

On the expectations for this weekend:
“I think this team is kind of up and down. We have some good warm weather and we seem to be solar energized. If we have some good sun and decent weather, this team is going to play hard. It's the pitching staff that needs to continue to learn as we go along. It's quite different than what we're used too but it's more challenging in any sense of the word and every part of the game. Every play means something so much more than it ever has.”