May 17, 2008
Oregon Coach Kathy Arendsen
On the game:
"Obviously, we are really excited, we took care of business today and we are eager for a rematch against Oklahoma. Arkansas left its heart out there for sure. We probably had a little bit of an advantage over them having played 11 innings earlier today. We got hits when we needed them. I thought Cook and Rice both pitched superb and we bounced back from an incredibly disappointing performance last night."
On meeting Oklahoma again:
"I think we were horrified by the way we played last night and we know we are a lot better. We also know we have a very difficult challenge ahead of us, but we will play an inning at a time and a hit at a time and see where it goes. We believe the series is tied right now, and we are looking forward to breaking that tie tomorrow. If we played like we did today, it will be a much better game tomorrow."
Oregon Senior Pitcher Alicia Cook
On emotions of being in the tournament:
"There is nothing better than staying around as long as we can. Obviously being here now, everyday is senior day so there is incredible emotion and incredible heart out there and I think you will see a lot more of it out there tomorrow against Oklahoma."
Oregon Freshman Monique Fuiava
On her performance today:
"Our pitchers and defense have been there and I knew we had to pick it up and if we didn't then we were going home. Our seniors deserve it, we all deserve it, but our seniors deserve to go as far as we can."
Arkansas head coach Jamie Pinkerton
On the game:
"It is not an easy time when you come in to this situation but I want to first express how proud I am of this ball club. I am extremely proud of this group and we had a great season. I anticipated a little flatness and you can only go to the well so many times. They were emotionally spent and I thought after the first inning they did a heck of a job to come out and play. We kept putting the ball in play and kept on playing hard, it just did not pan out for us in the second game. We never felt that we were out of the game and with this bunch they always find a way to keep fighting until the last out."
On Cook's pitching:
"She pitched her guts out today on a hot day."
Arkansas Senior Katy Henry
On playing Oregon after going 11 innings with Oklahoma:
"After the first game we set our minds on getting back to them (Oklahoma) tomorrow and trying to make them feel the way we felt after our first game. At the same time we knew that we had another game to play today so we were more focused on playing really well against Oregon."
On the progress of the program:
"It feels good to be one of the people that built this foundation and hopefully the juniors this year and classes that are to come build on what we have established. My freshman year I would have never thought that we would ever make it to regional. All of us have just worked so hard and I think we have come a really long way. I am happy to come back next year and sit in the stands to see if we can get back to regionals."
