Notes & Quotes: #8 Georgia 7, #7 Michigan 5
5/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
N O T E S
With the loss, Michigan falls to 4-2 in the all-time series against Georgia. U-M also falls to 7-18 over its nine WCWS appearances
Georgia's four home runs set a new Women's College World Series for home runs in a game. The previous record of three home runs was held by Oklahoma State (1998), Arizona (2000) and UCLA (2000). The five combined homers also set a single-game WCWS mark that was previously established in 2002 by Oklahoma and Arizona (four).
Michigan's back-to-back losses at the WCWS -- vs. Florida and Georgia -- marks its third time dropping consecutive games this season and first since getting swept at Northwestern in the Big Ten opener on March 21-22.
Junior catcher Roya St. Clair matched a career-high three hits against Georgia with a single, double and home run. St. Clair had previously tallied three hits on five occasions, most recently vs. Louisville on Feb. 13. Her three runs batted in also match a season high in the category.
St. Clair also wrapped the 2009 season with a career-high .301 batting average -- an 85-point improvement over her previous best, which she established during her rookie campaign (2007).
Michigan turned its sixth double play of NCAA Tournament play in the fifth inning. U-M completed the season with 13 double plays.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Carol Hutchins
Opening comment... "What a great effort by Georgia. They were just all over us, and you have to give them credit. Four home runs is just outstanding and against our great Michigan pitching. I give them credit and wish them all the luck. We had a great year and a great run to get here. We have just been outstanding all year long. As you know, unless you win the last game, you are never going to feel satisfied. We have a lot to reflect on. We have a lot to build on, and I am really proud of our group this year. I thought they were one of the best softball groups I've had."
On Georgia's offense... "I watched them play in the Ohio State Regional, and it is one-pitch softball. They are a very good team, and they are a hitting team. You have to give them credit, they took advantage of us."
On the game... "I give my kids credit out there because we had a lot of great effort out there. We got behind, and I thought that we got down there for a couple of innings. It's hard to beat a team when you're down. And then we got right back up. I thought our kids battled, and we had a lot of outs throughout the game. We had a lot of well-hit balls that didnt find their way, and its a different game if they do. But I thought that our kids battled back and that is all that you can ask for."
U-M Junior Catcher Roya St. Clair
On the amount of runs scored in the game... "We have a great pitching staff, and Georgia is a very good hitting team. You have to give all the credit in the world to them. We knew that coming into this game that they were going to score some runs and that we needed to get some offensive support for our pitching staff. I don't think that anyone in our dugout had any doubt that we could score some runs on them, but, unfortunately, we could not get a few more hits. They got those home runs, and that was the difference."
