NCAA Softball Regional Media Day Press Conference

Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso

On playing at home:

“It’s always beneficial to play at home for many reasons. One, you get great fan support and the excitement they get from seeing some really great softball for one last time at home, well, possibly not one last time. We’ll see. The crowds we have gotten all season have been phenomenal, so I know they’re excited about it. Just the comfort of being at home, knowing the field, knowing how the dugouts work, knowing how the sun and win work. Being in your own bed is something that is an advantage for these athletes as well. So I think there is a lot of reasons why we are excited about it.”

On not playing last week and the long break:

“I think these guys would tell you that some of their toughest games are actually in practice. You break this team up in half and split them into two really good teams going against each other. We try to make it as game-like as we can and as intense as we can, so I’m not worried about that. There’s nothing we can do about it, so we accept it and use practice to simulate and prepare to go.”

On the difference in preparing now to when she started at OU:

“That was a long time ago. I think the players are just different. They’re just different; I don’t know how to explain it. I don’t know that it is that much different in the way that we prepare them. Our goal as coaches is to get them to be at their best at the right time and there’s no magical solution for that except do it throughout the season. They understand what’s here, what’s at stake, and they thrive on that. We love playing big schedules, we love playing big teams, so they embrace that. They love representing the Big 12. We don’t get a lot of limelight and that’s exactly where we love to be. We don’t need that, we don’t thrive on that, and we don’t search that. We are here to play the best softball we can and we are going to get after it as hard as we can. That’s how I trained them in 2000 and that’s how we’ve trained them now.”

On pitcher Kelsey Stevens:

“We are optimistic. These players here can tell you she has been pretty nasty on the mound in the way of her pitches and how they’re breaking and her consistency is much better. If we get that opportunity we definitely want to use her. I think Kelsey is feeling much more confident. We’ll see how things play out but it’s exciting to know she has her feet back on the mound and ready to go.

“I think we all started to (see her turn the corner). We talked a little bit. Quite honestly everybody was walking on egg shells on how to treat her. I don’t know how to do that, no do these players know how to do that. So I think we pretty much decided to go back to who we are and get after her in a good way, saying ‘Let’s go. We can do this. We’re with you.’ It was just calling her out but she was calling herself out as well. It’s probably one of the toughest things as a coach when you have mental issues and I can’t dive into that brain and square it all out for you. We’ve got to let it all take its course and that’s just searching within and that’s hard to control and you can’t control it. But I think within the last months we’ve changed that tune of being ‘rah rah’ and just saying ‘Get tired of this and let’s turn this corner,’ and she has.”

On if she has had any similar situations to Kelsey Stevens’:

“I have. Quite honestly it got to the point where they surrendered and said ‘I don’t want to do this anymore because it’s too hard and I can’t figure it out.’ But Kelsey is a fighter and understood what she did the year before which gave her hope so we keep feeding her some great games from last year, letting her look at it on video. She is definitely getting better. They will tell you in practice there is something going on right now.”

On how Lauren Chamberlain has changed from freshman year to now:

“I think her growth from a girl to a woman is what I think of most. In every way, not just on the softball field but as a leader and in the classroom. I would also just tell you the way she’s handled things. She’ll be the first to tell you that she’s been through ups and downs. When she was young I think it was always really tough, dramatic and hard. I think she’s learned through faith and through support of other people how to handle some injuries or personal issues. Every one of these athletes has something they’ve gone through in their career, but sometimes Lauren’s get amplified because she’s such a big personality and really has been the face of the program for such a long time. She’s ready to take on the world, I know that, and I’m excited because I think she’ll win that battle, as well.”

Senior Infielder Lauren Chamberlain

On the program’s postseason success:

“I think all the experience we have on the team, also we peak at the right moment. We understand the process of a season, with all the highs and lows of it. We don’t get too caught up in everything. We have been lying under the radar for a while and I think we have postseason success because of that.”

On extra excitement for postseason play:

“I think postseason in Norman is a special time for fans and the atmosphere and the energy is really cool.”

On her mindset at the plate:

“Honestly it’s a competition with the pitcher. I’m thinking give me your best stuff and I’ll give you mine. I pride myself in working the count so I can get the pitch that I want in the at bat and just having productive at bats.”

On how she came back from injuries last year:

“Honestly, my teammates, and I can say that hands down. When I was gone they gave me the though process of just ‘do what you need to do to get better; we got you; we can handle this; we won’t be shaken.’ I think it was just turning to that sisterhood, ‘we have your back and get better and get back to us; we’ll handle business while you’re gone,’ and that allowed me to do what I had to do to get my back better, get my swing right and figure some things out.”

On when she realized she might be able to break the all-time home run record:

“Mostly this past year, my senior year. At the beginning of the season I knew I wouldn’t be able to break it in two weeks, so I wasn’t worried about it then. I think it just came into play as the season went along.”

On if she could face any pitcher in history:

“I know I’ve had one at-bat off Danielle Lawrie, but when she was in her prime at Washington I would’ve loved to have faced her. And then (Yukiko) Ueno from Japan. I’ve faced her once and it didn’t go well, so I’d like to face her in a rematch.”

On being recognized at the Oklahoma State Capitol last Tuesday:

“It was awesome, just something I didn’t expect as a freshman to be recognized in that way. It was cool to see how many people watch softball, and really care, and enjoy watching the sport, and to see them genuinely light up when we were in there. Hopefully we made their day a little better, but it was a really cool experience.”

On when she realized she could play Division I softball:

“I know I quit when I was at the age that some of these girls are at now. I went through something where I wanted to be a regular kid and have sleepovers and not have to wake up to go play softball. It’s different now, but I would just say to trust the process. If you feel like you’re last, which I did, then, hey, it worked out pretty well here so just keep the faith.”

On if she ever met Stacey Nuveman:

Yeah, I’ve known Stacey through travel ball when she’d come out and recruit. We haven’t had too many deep conversations but when we played them earlier this year, high-fives going through the line her there was a little harder high-five for me, which was a cool moment.”

On which home run was cooler, the walk-off against Tennessee in 2013 or No. 91:

“The walk-off, for sure. I will never forget that and watching videos of that because the way that game went with the buildup to it and the “Sooner Magic” that everyone talks about. It really was. I look back on it and it was crazy. But that one overall.”

On if they talk about ending the season with a championship or just take it in stride:

“I think a little bit of both. We are definitely taking things in stride and focusing on the Regional, but we were also focusing on the Big 12 and getting that fourth Big 12 title in a row. I think going out with a bang, we always talk about that. We’re always talking about what we can do to a leaves a mark on the program and as a team.”

Senior Infielder Shelby Pendley

On postseason advice to freshmen:
“Don’t be scared. When you’re playing scared you’re not playing to your full potential. From my personal experience I know that my first time in big situations when I first got here I was not playing great. I think that had a lot to do with not being there and the whole experience thing of just saying don’t play afraid.”

On extra excitement for postseason play:

“I think it has a lot to do with everyone being engaged, even the fans. There are just so many fans engaged and in tune.”

On playing with her sister (Nicole):

“It’s pretty special to be able to play with her one last year. We always played together growing up. She always played up with me. We fought when we were younger, so we never really took advantage of it until now.”

On her mindset at the plate:

“When I’m up to bat I try not to think too much. I just try to have the mindset of compete rather than go up there thinking about what I have to do with certain pitches. I just try to keep my mind free.”

On when she realized she could play Division I softball:

“I guess the day I committed. When I was younger I never thought I was good enough to play at the big, Division I schools. My dad will tell you this story, I was at the Women’s College World Series when I was 12 or maybe even younger and I told my dad that I would play in the championship game one day, and he goes “No you’re not.” He told me that story the night that we won [the national championship] and I had never remembered it until he told me. I thought that was cool to reminisce on that.”

Freshman Pitcher Paige Parker

On what it’s like having Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley playing behind her:

“It’s fantastic. I couldn’t ask for better leadership, better teammates, it’s just been a lot of fun playing with them this year and I couldn’t have asked for a better situation with them being seniors while I’m a freshman.”

On advice she was given:

“Don’t play scared and give it your all, all the time. Just go after it all the time.”

On extra excitement for postseason play:

“We are all just really locked in and ready to go and excited for postseason and excited to play.”

On her mindset on the mound:

“When I’m on the mound it’s just competing and executing the game plan and just making the best pitches that I possibly can in the right counts and right situations and knowing those counts and those situations so I know which pitches I need to throw.”

On when she realized she could play Division I softball:

“I think for me, it was the day I committed. Whenever I was younger it was always a goal for me, but I didn’t really realize that goal until I committed here. I think for younger girls, just to stay with it and work so hard because your dreams will come true if you work really, really hard. I just encourage them to stick with it and work as hard as they can.”

Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans

Opening Statement:

“As always, it’s great to be in the postseason, and we’re excited about the opportunity to be in the NCAA Tournament again, and we feel like we are back home. We have been here the last three years, and OU is always a great host so we are looking forward to a great regional.”

On the progress of Tori Vidales this season:

“Tori has had a great year for us as a freshman, and she has done great things that you expect out of seasoned veterans. She’s just a special player; she’s a phenomenal hitter and really has a great sense of what you have to do at this level to be successful. I knew she was a great player when I recruited her, but you never know if a freshman is going to come in and do what she’s done. We don’t want her to wake up anytime soon. To make Second Team All-Region is a huge honor, to make Second Team All-SEC is a huge honor and she is up there amongst the best players in the country. The fact that Tori will have a chance to be an All-American as a freshman, some things will have to fall into place to make that happen, but it’s an honor that’s well deserved and I’m proud of her.”

On the expectations of Rachel Fox and the pitching staff in the regional:

“It’s going to be a challenging regional; we are going to face a lot of great hitters. Rachel has been a mainstay for us, she has been our go-to, she has been our leader on the mound. She is having a great senior year, the best year of her career, she has led our pitching staff. What we need from her is to be very efficient and to attack hitters. The more efficient she is, the more innings we will get out of her. She’s done a great job with our entire staff, helping them and bringing them along. We have a staff who can get it done, and she is the key cog to it, for sure.”

On having a mix of freshmen and veterans and the familiarity of playing at OU:

“We have seven freshman and five of them could be in our starting lineup at any time. They don’t know anything about this place other than the great tradition of the Sooners and their success. Our upperclassmen will do a good job of making sure they understand what’s going to happen. We talked about the crowd. They have a great crowd; it’s fun to play in front of them. It is a lot like an SEC atmosphere here. It’s going to be fun. I have so much respect for OU and Patty Gasso and her staff and what they do. They are a phenomenal staff. You look at what they do across the board; hitting, pitching, defending. They just do a great job year in and year out. We know that, I feel like OU is in the SEC with us. Every year it feels like we end our season with a series against OU. We respect them and I am sitting here looking at all the history on the wall and I have coached against every one of those players. It’s fun to be back.”

On familiarity with Lehigh:

“Lehigh has certainly had our number in the postseason. They do a great job. I really respect their coaching staff. I love Coach Fran (Troyan); he really does a nice job. The thing about them is they play the game at the purest level. That’s how you’re supposed to play with that great heart, soul, love and pure determination. When you play them, even though our kids don’t know a lot about Lehigh, the first time we played them we were like ‘Who’s the team in the brown uniform?’ We didn’t even know Lehigh. And then we certainly learned about them in a hurry because they took care of business. It’s really interesting and ironic to see them again here in a regional in the first round. I have so much respect for them, and I made sure to relay that to our players so they understand who they are playing and the fierce competitiveness we will see from their team.”

On blending youth and experience:

“It’s been a blast. I’ve really had a lot of fun and every team is different in team chemistry and dynamic. As a coach, you may lose just one or two kids and it just feels so different that first day you go to practice and for us imagine losing eight seniors and bring in seven freshman. It just brings a different dynamic but has been really fun. The youngsters are fun and have integrated themselves immediately into our program, into our system. They have become some of the best players on our team, so that has helped too. Tori, Kristen Cuyos and Ashley Walters have come out and are already in our lineup establishing themselves. It’s made the transition easier for that group, but Rachel and our seniors and juniors have done a good job embracing them. You have to embrace the freshman because they are going to be on the field. So if you want to win you better take care of these kids. I think it was natural; I don’t think it was anything that I had to say to this group, it just naturally happened. I attribute that to the kind of kids we get at A&M. It’s a school where these kids are diehard Aggies. They are the 12th man and they believe in the core values of the university and that just fits right in to our program.”

Senior Pitcher Rachel Fox

On playing her fourth regional in Norman:
“It’s always important to play somewhere you’re familiar with and I think this being my fourth time to play in Oklahoma, that’s going to be an important factor to the overall success of our team and the success for me on the mound. I think it is an important factor and I think it’s going to be important for us to play comfortable and play relaxed and just attack hitters.”

On getting back on the field after being eliminated in the SEC Tournament:

“Our loss to South Carolina was a tough one. We probably could have done a couple of things differently. Looking back, it’s just a learning experience. We take away the positives and negatives and move forward. The SEC is obviously tough every game that we play but giving us a little bit of a break is good for our bodies. We had to push for finals the last week of the season but now that’s over and now we are strictly softball players and get to focus strictly on that and that’s the task at hand. We are 100 percent dedicated to this weekend and hopefully moving forward from then on.”

On blending youth and experience:

“As a senior it’s important to realize and respect the freshman come in and they’re prepared. I think every single one of them came in prepared and knew what our program expected and stepped up to the challenge, and I’ve just really enjoyed seeing each of them grow as a player and they have exceeded all of our expectations. They came ready to play. They have the title of freshman but none of them play like that. It’s relaxing to me to look to third base and shortstop and behind the plate. Yeah, they are freshman, but look at the potential they have. They didn’t come looking like freshman, they came in looking like veterans. That’s what is going to be a good thing for us to push through the rest of the postseason.”

Freshman Infielder Tori Vidales

On the excitement of playing in her first NCAA Tournament:

“It’s a great feeling to be in the postseason. Our team has done a lot this year, and I feel like we have come out and fought in every game and I feel like this postseason is going to give us another opportunity to play big and come out and get another win, so we are really excited.”

On getting back on the field after being eliminated in the SEC Tournament:

“The rest was a really great thing for our bodies, especially during finals week. You just want to rejuvenate your body and get ready. It was kind of a good thing for us to get back in there and get some reps and get some looks at our pitchers and get in there and really bond as a team and get ready for this postseason.”

On blending youth and experience:

“I think a great thing is I’ve played with a lot of the people I am playing with now. Rachel (Fox) was my coach before she was my teammate. I love being able to go up to the mound and make her laugh when we’re in a tough situation and say something funny to get her to crack a smile and loosen up a little bit. I think it’s a great team environment with all the seniors and freshman coming in. We have lots of energy and are ready to be here. The seniors paved the way for us and made us better and let us compete with them. They have let us know we are useful even though we are freshman. It’s a great feeling knowing your seniors have your back and the freshman are going to do whatever it takes to get a win.”

Lehigh Head Coach Fran Troyan

Opening statement:

“We are certainly thrilled to be in Oklahoma, but we would have been thrilled to be at any of the regional sites. We are happy to participate in the NCAA Tournament and thrilled to be back at Oklahoma. We have some familiarity here. We were here a long time ago in 2001 and we were here a few years ago, as well. We kind of know the lay of the land and have a lot of respect for our fellow teams that are here. We are looking forward to hopefully playing some good softball for you all."

On familiarity with playing in Oklahoma and against Texas A&M:

“We first met Texas A&M in 2006 and it was back when the NCAA was taking top seeds and putting them elsewhere. We lucked out with a little bus trip up to UMass. The weather wasn’t great. They had to travel a bunch of miles to get there. We were fortunate to be able to make it to the regional finals and knocked out Texas A&M in that particular year. I was impressed from the very beginning how (head coach) Jo Evans was in the loss. I thought to myself that if I were in that same situation I never would have handled it as well as she did. From that point on she and I have become very, very friendly. To be candid, I really look up to her. Obviously she is a peer because we are both head coaches but I look to her as much as a mentor as anything else. To be back here at Oklahoma again, it’s just a great place to be. Oklahoma is arguably one of the top two or three softball programs in the country year in and year out. It’s just an honor to be here."

On what sets the Lehigh program apart:

“To be honest, you can become a pretty good coach if you have pretty good players. We have been very, very lucky to attract some strong student-athletes. If you’re a recruit, and you are a strong student, and you meet somebody like Alexis Watanabe who is a behavior neuroscience major with a 3.8 (GPA) with just an awesome smile and electric personality you’re thinking ‘Hey, I want to be a part of this.’ Or if you meet Emily Bausher with a 3.7 (GPA) in environmental science and just the heart of a champion and a competitor when you watch her pitch, you say ‘I want to be a part of this.’ Good people attract good people and we’re very, very fortunate one through 18 that we have quality, quality individuals. We very rarely talk about winning and losing. All we are trying to do is be the best version of ourselves on a daily basis. Get a little bit better every single day. It’s kind of like when you don’t see your cousins for six months. They get a little bit bigger and change over time but if you see them every day you don’t notice as much. That’s what happened to us this year. We are a pretty good version of the Lehigh softball program right now, and we are certainly better than we were six months ago because of the commitment these players have had to getting better on a daily basis."

Junior Infielder Alexis Watanabe

Opening comment:

“I’m just excited to be here. This is my first time playing in a big tournament, especially regionals, which are something I watch on TV. It’s just very special for me to be here. I am honored to be here, especially with such a great group of girls, who I love. I’m excited."

On her mindset at the plate:

“In all honesty, I do the best when I don’t think about it at all and just simplify the game and not try to overdue anything but just keep myself calm and do whatever I can do with the pitch that’s thrown."

Senior Pitcher Emily Bausher

Opening comment:

“We’ve been striving to come back here ever since my freshman year, we were actually here in Oklahoma during my freshman year in this regional. To be back is such a pleasure; it’s a great complex. To be back, especially with this team and the comradery that we have, it’s an amazing experience to be playing for these girls and I’m just glad to have the opportunity to continue our season."

On her mindset on the mound:

“My mindset is to keep a clear head. From my perspective I just shoot for outs more than I shoot for shutouts or strikeouts. I’m just trying to put my team in the best position that we can be in to get that win. Whether that means coming out with 10 strikeouts or two, it’s really a toss-up at that point. Just putting my personal goals aside for the team goals is what really helps me out on the mound. Stepping out there and knowing that we are playing for the team on the front of the shirt and not the name on the back is something that I’ve encompassed throughout my life. It’s really easy to play for the name on the front in this program."

On pitching pain-free:

“It feels obviously better physically, but mentally it’s easier for me to step out there and know I’m not going to have an issue in the fifth inning trying to get those pitches where I want them to be. Going through with the surgery that I had in August was the best decision that I’ve ever made. The support that I have had on the team as I went through the surgery and rehab and not being able to play in the fall and then coming out stronger this spring has been really awesome to see. I’m proud of where I came from and where I’m at."

Central Arkansas Head Coach David Kuhn

Opening Statement:

“The three seniors up here are a big reason on why we are here. We are just blessed and honored to be here.

On the dog pile after winning the conference tournament:

“I actually heard them in batting practice the day before planning it. That gave me a great feeling as a coach hitting (batting practice). They were like, ‘You do this and you do that.’ One of our girls who is redshirting, Randi Wallace, due to knee injury, I was like ‘isn’t this awesome, isn’t this amazing,’ the day after and she said ‘Yeah coach, I just wish I could have got on the dog pile but I was right there next to it.’ That was pretty cool.”

On playing Oklahoma:

“It is a tremendous challenge. They are one of the best programs in the country year in and year out. They have two of the best players in the county in Chamberlain and Pendley and then they have Paige Parker, one of the most outstanding pitchers in the country. Eight of their nine starters made All-Region. It’s certainly deserving. We are just honored and blessed to be playing a school with such tradition, pageantry and against a hall of fame coach in Coach Gasso and her entire staff. We are excited to be here. We are one of 64 teams left standing out of 295 teams. This is only our fifth year eligible for NCAA postseason and UCA has never been to the NCAA postseason in softball. The hits just keep coming, it’s pretty awesome.”

On what he wants his team to take out of the regional:

“We’re just trying to take it one pitch at a time. It feels like it’s just another game because this is the fourth time in three years we have been at OU. We comfortable in our settings. We have six Okies on our team and several alumni in the area. We’re not saying this is our home field by any means. We are familiar with the settings, the dugout and their team but we know how lucky, and blessed, and fortunate that God has given us this opportunity.”

On what type of a game you want the opener to be:

“In my experience in these situations is you want to keep it close as long as possible. I feel like if we’re within three runs we are in great shape. We do need Kylie (Studioso) to pitch to contact. She is a power pitcher. Looking at the numbers she has 260-270 strikeouts. I like it when her pitch counts are below 90 versus the 140-150. I like her to stay away from full counts, pitch to contact and use her defense. We need to keep the ball in the park, throw strikes and pound the strike zone but not so much that we are throwing cookies to Chamberlain and Pendley or it will be 2-0 before you can blink. Everybody in their lineup is amazing. We need to keep it close as long as possible. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I feel like OU is supposed to be in the World Series every year, in my opinion and I know how hard that is. That’s their standard. Our standard is to make the conference tournament and compete for it and now we punched through the door and made the NCAAs. We don’t want this to be a one and done. If we keep it close anything can happen. That’s going to be a challenge. We are going to have to play our best and have things go our way.

Senior Infielder Hayley Parker

On playing in her first NCAA Tournament:

“I’m still in shock. I know everyone on the team is still in shock. We just can’t fathom it yet. It’s crazy.”

Senior Pitcher Kylee Studioso

On playing in her first NCAA Tournament:

“It’s just really exciting. The word we have all been using is surreal. Just knowing that we did it, that we came into the weekend and had all momentum behind us and it all came through. We played for each other and played for each and every person on the team.”

On the dog pile after winning the conference tournament:

“The left fielder was on the bottom, Hannah Stirton, so we all waited for her. She was upside down on the bottom.

On what type of a game you want the opener to be:

“We just have to play the way we’ve been playing. We’ve been playing for each other and that’s the biggest part. As a pitcher knowing that everyone behind you has your back no matter what happens. I think we’ve done a really good job just knowing that everybody is going to make every play that they can. We were in the game and tied 6-6 last time we were here and so that’s also a big confidence booster going in, knowing that we put up six runs on Oklahoma when we were here. If we keep doing what we’re doing it will be a great game and I think it could go either way.

Senior Infielder Ashley Boswell

On playing in her first NCAA Tournament:

“I’ve been here four years, so for my senior year to win the conference tournament and go to the NCAA regionals is just an amazing experience and I’m glad these girls get to experience it now so they can strive for that next year as well.”

On being a native of Oklahoma playing regionals in Oklahoma:

“It’s awesome because when I first started playing softball I started watching it on TV and OU and OSU were on all the time. A lot of OU fans are back in Tahlequah, Okla., where I’m from. Just kind of grew up learning the game from them and being able to play against them and at their home field is awesome because I will be surrounded not only by people I grew up playing against but also getting to see all my family that get to be here will be an amazing experience.