Notes & Quotes: #6 Michigan 1, #17 Virginia Tech 0
5/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
N O T E S
With its victory in the opening game of NCAA Super Regional play, Michigan improved to 4-1 in the all-time series against Virginia Tech. U-M has won the last four contests.
The Wolverines also improved their all-time NCAA Tournament record to 55-33. Michigan has participated in five straight NCAA Super Regionals and made eight trips to the Women's College World Series since 1995.
With today's win, Michigan improved its season record to 52-6, producing the fifth most wins in program history. The Wolverines boast nine 50-win seasons since 1995. They established the program standard for season wins in 2005, compiling a 65-7 mark en route to their first NCAA championship.
Senior Alessandra Giampaolo claimed her 61st career double and a share of Michigan's career record in the category with her two-bagger in the sixth inning vs. Virginia Tech. She shares the mark with All-American Catherine Davie (1996-99).
With her 31st victory of the season -- and fourth in NCAA Tournament play -- freshman pitcher Jordan Taylor moved into the fifth position among Michigan's all-time single-season wins leaders. She is tied with two-time All-American Jennie Ritter (2003-06), who claimed 31 wins during her senior campaign. Taylor is two wins shy of the fourth spot on the list, currently held by All-American Kelly Holmes (33, 1997).
Taylor also moved to the fourth position among Michigan's single-season shutout leaders with her 15th complete-game shutout of the season and third in a row. The Wolverine rookie shares the spot with three-time All-American Sara Griffin (1995-98), who achieved the feat during her sophomore season. Taylor needs one more shutout to reach the third spot, currently held by Ritter (16, 2005).
Senior Michelle Weatherdon boasts a career-best 14 runs through 39 appearances this season. Her previous high was 10 runs, which she registered in 42 games as a junior last season.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
On Michigan's victory... "It's a great win. It was a tight game, and it was a very exciting game. It was exactly as I expected. I felt the chances of this being a low-scoring game were great, and I just hoped that our score was a little higher. [Virginia Tech pitcher Angela] Ticher is as good as advertised, and I told our kids after the game, 'We're sitting in the position we want to be in because we played great defense.' Defense starts on the mound, and we didn't let them score until we found a way to score. It was a very exciting day for us, and I expect tomorrow to be no less."
On Jordan Taylor's performance from the circle today... "I like Jordan's pitching every day. She stays within herself. She didn't get some calls that we would have liked to have gotten, and she doesn't let it get to her. We play one-pitch softball. We just worry about the next pitch. The most important thing we do is control our emotion, control ourselves, and she has to trust her team behind her. She doesn't have to be perfect. She just needs to pitch to the hitters the way she does all the time and let her defense help her."
On whether there were moments when U-M hitters got discouraged... "I thought we had a couple moments. I'd like to see a little bit better energy tomorrow. I told them after the game that I thought we did a pretty good job, and I thought we had a lot of good at-bats. We had some good contact. I thought we prepared well this week. What got to us was [Angela Tincher's] drop ball, and we got a little better laying off it later in the game. She's a great pitcher. You're not going to come out and overpower a great pitcher. Our game plan is we need to play defense, we need to hold them. We need to trust that something will happen and go our way, and we need to stay up."
U-M Senior Leftfielder Alessandra Giampaolo
On the at-bat that set up her sixth-inning double... "I was just seeing the pitches really well. I might not have been swinging at all strikes, but I was keeping my head on the ball and I was really focused on just putting it in play. I felt like I was in a zone, and I believed that I was going to get a hit. She just pitched it right there, so I took a good cut at it."
On facing Angela Tincher... "I think our main problem was we weren't swinging at strikes all the time. She has a lot of movement on her ball, and we were swinging at her drop balls and her rise balls. I think the key is for us to lay off those pitches and make her put it in our zone, and I think we can beat her that way. But I think we just battled. Angela [Findlay] battled. I think we just believed that we were going to swing and hit the pitches that were right."
On her pinch runner, Michelle Weatherdon... "I love seeing Michelle come in and get the run, because she is faster than I am. Who knows, I might not have been safe in that situation. She's aggressive. She just goes for it, and I love that; I love seeing her get her due."
U-M Freshman Pitcher Jordan Taylor
On what worked well for her... "Just trusting my pitches. Everything seemed to be on as it should be. It was just a good game. I think I did a good job following the plan. I wasn't being too careful and just threw my game for all seven innings. The defense was a big help today. I didn't strike everybody out, so obviously everyone made plays. It's a big confidence boost to have everyone behind me."
On participating in today's pitchers' duel... "Pitchers' duels are always fun. But it's more of a game where one pitch can change the whole game. Anybody can hit a home run at this point, so it's just not me going against [Angela] Tincher; it's me going against the Virginia Tech batters."
U-M Senior Pinch Runner Michelle Weatherdon
On scoring the game-winning run... "I didn't expect it, but I'm proud to do it and I'm happy to do it. It was a tag-team effort; me and Alessandra, we're a team. I think it was going to be close [at the plate] either way, whether it was Ali or it was me running. It was one of those hits and just one of those close plays. I could just hear the crowd, and it was really exciting. With two outs, you're just going. That's all that's in my head, 'Going home, going home.'"
