Postgame Quotes: OU v. Texas

Oklahoma v. Texas
Postgame Quotes
April 17, 2014

On Texas scoring first:
“It seems like anytime somebody wants to score first on us, we'll answer right back and then again and again. Sometimes you're almost waiting for someone to score first to ignite the offense to say 'not on us.' I don't think it really bothered us that much because Mandy Ogle is a very good hitter and does very well against us. I thought Kelsey (Stevens) did a fantastic job, especially as the game went on. She got stronger. I think one of the biggest plays of the game was Jessica Vest and that base on balls and then having Georgia Casey come up and do her thing. Paris Townsend gets in, pinch hits and it's two inches from blowing the whole thing open. There are times when we're standing and looking at strikes; we were really working to figure out the strike zone and started to get to that point. Proud of the team and their efforts and we were without a couple players again tonight and Vest came in big for us. This team is scraping it together and doing it.”

On the atmosphere of the game:
“All it does is boost us. When we go to Texas, we're getting it the same way. The little peanut gallery guys were fun and they were making things happen and it really ignited the crowd. The music and everything involved tonight, the fact that it was a night game and televised, it was just really an atmosphere that any athlete would love to play in.”

On Kelsey Stevens' performance:
“She's showing that she's got a rubber arm and I'm sure she's going to want to throw the next two games. What I'm just finding out about her is she's really a competitor. When you have a pitcher who has talent and is a competitor on the mound, big things are going to happen. I just see great improvement from her. She's coming up clutch with some big pitches when we need them.”

On the pitching staff for the rest of the weekend:
“I need time to talk with Coach (Melyssa) Lombardi. I think what we're looking at tomorrow is that it's a must-win situation. We'll see how Kelsey feels and sit and talk about it.”

Sophomore Kelsey Stevens

On her mindset going into the game:
“I just wanted to start off the game right and make a statement. I thought the fans were really great so that helped. I wanted to try to make them chase pitches rather than getting behind in the count. I think we had a good game plan going into it, and it worked well.”

On coming back after the home run:
“I think it's just important any time you give up a hit or a home run that you're not going to let it get you down. It wasn't my best pitch, but I'm glad I at least made her earn it and not walk the leadoff batter.”

On getting the first win in the series:
“It does a lot. Anytime you get the first win, it sets the tone. Tomorrow will be a really important game, and I think we need to just come out with the same energy that we had today.”

Junior Georgia Casey

On her home run:
“I think it all fed off Jessica Vest's at bat. She worked really hard to get on first and I almost wanted to do good for her since she had such a big time at bat. I wanted to come up clutch for her and for Kelsey to get that run back.”

On figuring out Texas's pitcher:
“I think in your second and third at bats, you're always a little more educated on what the pitcher is like. In the first and second innings you're just trying to see what she's like, but I think we started to figure her out a little bit.”