May 16, 2009 | NCAA Softball Norman Regional | Norman, Okla.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE HEAD COACH DARREN MUELLER
Opening statement...
"We had a lot of success today and that is something that you dream about as a coach and as a team and until it happens it is hard to imagine until it does happen."
On pitcher Andi Padilla...
"You know Andi is not a strikeout pitcher. She is not going to strikeout 10 pitchers. And she is always going to move the ball around and her off-speed is really good. A combination of Andi, Jordan Kinard, Katie Lee and some of our assistant coaches working over the years and understanding what is going to be called. So, that is a big part of our team and what we do at pitcher."
On the conversation on the mound...
"We knew that we were not going to take Andi out of the game, we just wanted to get refocused because we knew that they were a strong hitting team. So, we just talked with them on what we wanted to do on first and third situations. We just went over what we wanted to do defensively and made sure that we covered all our bases."
On the team...
"We talked with them and we are going to let them enjoy the day because of what happened yesterday with the weather and let them have a chance to enjoy the victory. Then we will come back and get refocus tomorrow and I think that they will refocus tomorrow and I still think that we have nothing to lose, we are still the four seed and Oklahoma, Tulsa and Arkansas are still great teams. You never know what is going to happen and we just got to take care of business and refocus."
NORTH DAKOTA STATE PITCHER ANDI PADILLA
On what the team is feeling...
"The way things kind of fell into place, everybody dreams about what could happen and do well out here. So to come out here and pump each other up it has been great."
On the turnaround after upset of Oklahoma...
"We just need to refocus because that was a huge win and we had to get ready for Tulsa and now we just need to refocus and get ready for tomorrow."
NORTH DAKOTA STATE FIRST BASEMAN MELISSA CHMIELEWSKI
On what the team is feeling...
"I guess it is kind of unexplainable. We knew that we could come in here and give other teams a run for their money but to come out here and get two win is amazing."
On the continuation of Friday's game with Oklahoma into Satuday...
"I think that we would have rather have finished it last night but at the same time we knew that we were dealing with the same situation too."
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TULSA HEAD COACH JOHN BARGFELDT
Opening statement...
"That is about a tough as a loss as it gets, going from the highs and the lows. Give credit to the team that stepped up in clutch situations. There is a lot of luck in this game. We get that bunt that stayed on the line forever and roles foul and North Dakota State gets a two-out triple down the third base line to stay alive. I felt that we made great pitches and that there was some luck involved. We got two balls off the top of the fence and things didn't go our way. I commended the girls in the way they played and sometimes that is the only way you can explain a loss, sometimes it just doesn't go your way."
On short preparation...
"We were going to throw Jackie (Lawrence) no matter what. So that really didn't change our focus. You know we really focus on ourselves and not the opposition."
On the Tulsa bottom of the line-up...
"You have a lot of confidence in those girls in that half of the order. They laid down a great bunt and it just stayed there forever and you could just see that there was a little slope that it hit because it was not budging until it got half down the line."
On Jackie Lawrence...
"She threw the ball as well as she has been and you look at her record of 20-5 because she does not loss very often. I felt that she was throwing the ball real well and she had a little extra giddy up in her. I thought she threw the ball well the whole game."
On Andi Padilla...
"She is real good on locating and we talked to our hitters about her and we had a plan. You know the more you see a pitcher, the more you know what she could throw at you. We made some adjustments and had plan."
