Oklahoma vs. North Texas Quotes

Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso

On the depth of the Sooner lineup:
“That is what is kind of fun about all of this. Anyone can come off the bench. Kelsey (Arnold) has been waiting her turn; Jessica Vest has had a good season thus far and she is kind of waiting her turn. You have a lot of athletes that could be starting somewhere. She (Arnold) could be a five-hole somewhere or a lead off. I think they understand that this team is not like many others in the country. It is difficult to get in the lineup. When you do, what are you going to do with your opportunity? She made the most of that tonight and that was good to see.”

On if the lineup in the past couple games will be used going forward:
“I like the idea of Paige Parker lower in the lineup because it gives us power down there, but we have power down there. It also gives her a little bit of a breath. It loads up the top of the lineup with (Lauren) Chamberlain, (Shelby) Pendley, (Kady) Self, (Erin) Miller, Georgia Casey and all these returners who have a lot of experience and wins behind them. I like Paige being behind them to get her a little breath. She is really getting a lot of work day in and day out. I think we were on to something this weekend. I made a few adjustments, but I think Nicole Pendley was taking a break tonight and you will see her back in. I can throw anything out there and feel pretty good about it.”

On Shelby Pendley pitching well in relief:
“That was very important. That was part of our game plan to give Paige the night off. Shelby needed to get in a game and get some work because she is going to be very valuable, as well. We keep trying with Kelsey (Stevens). I don't know what else to say other than we are making progress. It may not look like it to anyone else, but we see it every day and we know what it looks like. It is still not quite good enough for what we are looking for, but its baby steps until we can take one big leap.”

On what her message is to Stevens:
“I think the biggest thing is to let her know that we all support her. I would never turn my back on a player and these guys would never turn their backs on a teammate. Quite honestly it is frustrating. We are frustrated, and she is frustrated. The momentum and the style of the game becomes very slow and almost monotonous. It is not very fun for fans or for the defense and she knows that. If it was something that could be fixed easily it would be fixed by now. I feel for her. It is a hard situation and that is one of the toughest things for a great athlete. They get into a funk and as a coach how do you help them. We are just doing the best we can right now.”

Senior Lauren Chamberlain

On if she “just missed” hitting home runs on the two popups she hit tonight:
“I was just trying to take a good hack on a good pitch. I wasn't trying to hit a home run. I just wanted to get a good part of the bat on it and start something for my team.”

On playing with intensity at the end of the regular season:
“I am speaking on behalf of my team when I say that we should have put out a better display for you guys tonight, honestly. We learned from our mistakes and we bounce back. It is awesome that we get to use this as a motivation to get back on our horse and roll into Stillwater with some good energy after a good practice tomorrow.”

On if she ever talks with Shelby Pendley about being No. 1 and No. 2 in career home runs:
“We exchange texts throughout the day. I just get pumped that she is my teammate. I texted her the other day that we are doing something that not a lot of people can say they have done. It is a cool feeling knowing she is behind me. It is a one-two duo. I want that to be the focus from this point on. It is a cool vibe. It is not just one person.”

On what makes Assistant Coach Tripp McKay such a good hitting coach:
“I think he just has so many levels of knowledge in hitting that if something isn't working he has a different option or a different way of explaining it. Having all those dimensions in his brain really clicked with us, and it is what makes us so good and the rest of the team, as well.”

Senior Shelby Pendley

On coming on in relief:
“I just wanted to get on the mound and do what I am supposed to. I wanted to create some momentum so that when we came back into the dugout we have something to feed off of.”

On if it is odd to be closing in on 90 home runs but being behind Chamberlain:
“I don't really think about it too much. I can't wait to see her break it. She is going to do it. When that happens it will be really great because she is my teammate.”

On if there is something special about the team that has allowed Lauren and her to hit so well this season:
“I give a lot of the credit to Coach McKay. Without him I would not be the hitter I am today. He has to be in the conversation, as well.”

On is she is tracking her own home run race and if she knows her total:
“I do. It is not something that I think about. That is not my goal here. My goal is to play softball, the game that I love. Thinking about home runs is not something that I sit around do everyday. I get my work in at practice and I do what I need to do to get better. I don't think about home runs. Those are just results from the work I put in.”

Freshman Kelsey Arnold

On her home run tonight:
“I just wanted to get on base and pass the bat around. I knew my teammates were going to knock me in.”

On her role in getting on base for the top of the order:
“I think it is awesome to have them a the top of the lineup, but it is a team effort to just go in and pass the bat around. That is all you can do.”

Players Mentioned

Kelsey Arnold

Georgia Casey

Lauren Chamberlain

Paige Parker

Nicole Pendley

Shelby Pendley

Jessica Vest

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics