May 24, 2001
Recap|Box Score |World Series Tracker
NCAA Women's College World Series
May 24-28, 2001
Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
STANFORD HEAD COACH JOHN RITTMAN:"Wow, what a ball game. That was two great teams battling tonight in extra innings. I think it was somewhat of a pitcher's duel. Both pitchers really stepped up and pitched very well. I'm really proud of the way our team battled tonight coming into our first game here. I didn't really know how my kids would respond. In batting practice today, every ball was a line drive, we were making good throws in pregame. In mind I knew we were ready to play. Jessica (Mendoza) and Sarah (Beeson) did a great job hitting. Dana (Sorenson) pitched a wonderful game. Jessica also made a great defensive play. We had a lot of different people involved and that's indicative of this team all year."
On the difference in the game: "I thought we had clutch hits. LSU's base runner on second (in the fourth inning) was very smart to tag and go. I think Mendoza made a great catch over the fence. I was caught watching a great defensive play and I thought she had a left early, but I asked our catcher and she said that she hadn't left early. The ball that Jessica kept in the ball park really helped us keep our composure."
On LSU pitcher Britni Sneed: "We had seen her earlier in the year and I think that really helped us. We got a couple big hits off her, both solo home runs, during that game and she also had a bunch of strikeouts in that game. We watched some video of those hits. We knew she had a great curveball and that she throws a good change-up every now and then. She also tries to get you to swing at that rise ball."
STANFORD OUTFIELDER JESSICA MENDOZA:On her catch over the fence in the fourth inning: "I remember thinking, `I'm not letting that ball get out of the park. Initially, I didn't even think about the runner. The whole play happened in slow motion. Then I realized the runner was going and the game came back into perception. I just wasn't fully aware of the runner."
STANFORD PITCHER DANA SORENSON:On the fourth inning: "That inning I was really pumped. Anytime you get ahead, you've got to shut them down. Good teams like LSU want to come out and immediately respond. As a pitcher, you're never happy to give up a run, but Jessica's catch was a sigh of relief. You just have to go right back at the batter and take care of the game."
LOUISIANA STATE HEAD COACH YVETTE GIROUARD:On the game: "I have to give credit to Stanford. They obviously got a couple of hits and put them back-to-back to score those runs. They made that play at the fence that I think may have saved the game for them. I think that if that ball goes over, I think that we win the ballgame. I don't think that we played particularly well. I thought we were off just a little bit. This game is all about inches sometimes. You've got to hate it when you out-hit your opponent and still lose, albeit one hit. It's all about putting them back-to-back and getting RBIs. We talk about it all the time and didn't quite do it today. The kids played hard and that's all you can ask of them."
On sending Julie Wiese home from second in the fifth inning: "Brain dead, brain dead by the coach. I was sending her all the way and should have been up the line and read the ball. I thought she had a better jump and made up in my mind that I was going to send her all the way. Coaching 101, I should have been up the line to read the ball a little bit better. I apologized to the team and I take credit for this loss because I think that it might have been a big momentum breaker."
On how LSU will react to losing tonight's game: "I like my team. I love my team and there's no question in my mind that we'll battle back. They've been like this all year long and they have great character and great poise. There's not a question in my mind that we're going win on Saturday."
LOUSIANA STATE PITCHER BRITNI SNEEDOn whether she thought Stanford had an advantage by beating LSU earlier in the season: "I think that maybe, as far as a mental aspect, just because they have that confidence because they do have a "W" over us. But we played them back in February. Both teams have matured a lot since then, have grown a lot since then, so it's kind of up in the air."