Notes & Quotes: #6 Michigan 8, Notre Dame 0
5/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
N O T E S
The Wolverines have advanced to the final game of the NCAA Regional in each of the last nine seasons. They have won six regional titles over that stretch.
With today's victory, Michigan improves to 9-4 in the all-time series against Notre Dame. The Wolverines have won four straight in the series.
Senior Alessandra Giampaolo's fourth-inning triple was the sixth of her career. The Wolverine captain owns 80 extra-base hits over her U-M tenure, adding 60 doubles and 14 home runs. Senior Samantha Findlay boasts 99 -- 35 doubles, two triples and 62 home runs.
Junior Teddi Ewing matched a career high with her 3-for-3 effort from the plate vs. Notre Dame. She has tallied three hits on four different occasions over her career, including three times this season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
Opening statement... "I thought that was a great ball game. It was tight early and Notre Dame had a good game plan coming in against us. We just kept chipping away and certainly getting another big pinch hit was outstanding. I thought, more than anything, we stayed in our moment and played each inning. I think my team is doing a really good job of playing one inning at a time."
On if they had scouted Notre Dame last night... "[Associate Head Coach] Bonnie [Tholl] charted the pitches and we have some video on them. You try to have your kids just have a sense of what she is going to throw at you and then make some adjustments from there."
On her confidence in using Marley Powers in key situations... "I really believe the only confidence that matters is Marley's and the person up to bat. Clearly, she has good confidence right now and that gives everybody confidence in her."
On the team's hitting mentality... "We want our kids just to focus on good at-bats. Home runs are the outcome of taking good cuts at the ball and staying within yourself. I am certain that we don't try to hit it over the fence, we try to meet the ball and in that situation we need to put it in play. She had two strikes on her and I think it was a mistake by the pitcher -- and I am certain that the most important thing is when they give us a mistake we take advantage of it. We took advantage of a lot of the opportunities we had today."
On finding consistency in the offense... "I think anybody in our line-up is capable at any time. You see Roya [St. Clair] come up -- she hadn't had an at-bat -- and swing at that first pitch and get a hit. Everybody in our line-up is capable and everyone needs to take turns (getting the clutch hit) because in softball, you are not always going to get it done. My biggest concern is being consistent with our approach because thats the only thing we can control."
On the team's approach... "I like our approach. The games are going to be tight, we are playing good teams. You are not necessarily going to come out and get hits in the first inning or second inning. Games go as they go and there is seven innings and we try to take one inning at a time. I thought we did that very well yesterday and I thought we did that very well today -- one inning at a time, each inning is its own inning."
On Molly Bausher's diving catch in the fifth inning... "She's had a couple of those this year. She's made some tremendous catches for us in that outfield; she's a heck of an athlete."
On the leadership from the infield... "I am so pleased with Teddi (Ewing), she is the leader out there -- her and Sam (Findlay). They set a great tone for us and they do their part and they keep everybody together. Of course we are led by whoever is out there pitching for us. Thats very important because defense starts on the mound."
U-M Junior Shortstop Teddi Ewing
On if the team's approach to today's game differed from last night's game... "I really think we haven't changed. Yesterday, even though we were down 4-0, the team stayed calm and confident and realized we had to stick together and work through that to come back one run at a time. We took a good approach yesterday, but things were going their way before they went our way. Today we went out there and tried to keep that approach - just stay together and go out there one pitch at a time and try to get a hold of the ball."
On avoiding anxious moments in close games... "If those moments come in, you have to catch them and realize they are going through your head and try to control your mind. You need to realize thats not what you need going through your head, you need to realize we can do this and just stay in the moment."
U-M Freshman Pitcher Jordan Taylor
On the bench's reaction to the Powers home run... "Everybody was just in shock; I don't know if anyone said anything."
On the differences between today and last night... "We have been working on my body speed and getting a bit more pop on the ball. Last night was the first time that we tried something a little bit different, so it is just getting used to a new approach."
U-M Freshman Pinch Hitter Marley Powers
On the pitch she hit out... "I don't know what pitch it was supposed to be -- it hung though. It was inside and hung and I took a good cut."
On her emotion while rounding the bases... "I was in shock, but also pumped because we took the lead at that point. It had been a 0-0 ballgame up until then, so I was just pumped to see some numbers on the board."
