March 27, 2001
NCAA Women's College World Series
May 24-28, 2001
Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City, Okla.
ARIZONA HEAD COACH MIKE CANDREA:On the game: "We are where we want to be. Becky (Lemke) threw a tremendous game. Offensively we didn't do exactly what we wanted to do so the game turned into a pitchers' duel. I will not complain about the lack of offense because a win is a win."
On the tournament: "Overall, this has been a great tournament. It gets better and better each year. The tournament committee and Oklahoma City have done a great job. The true test is tomorrow, we will have to see how the attendance turns out since OU is not playing in the championship game. We will see if all of these people are softball fans or OU fans. Overall, the tournament keeps getting better. It has become more festive and the playing will continue to become better and tougher."
On more home runs in the tournament: "Teams here are capable of hitting a pitcher's mistake over the fence. Another way you could think of it is that the fences are still at 190 feet. Someday they may think about moving the fences back. When a hitter is at bat, reaction time is minimal so you must give hitters like Toni (Mascarenas) credit. Home runs are a big factor in the tournament and they are great for the fans."
ARIZONA THIRD BASEMAN TONI MASCARENASOn the win: "I'm really happy about it right now. We will celebrate today's win for a while and then get focused on tomorrow's game. This is where we expected to be and the national championship has been out goal all year. Tomorrow's game is no different than any other. We are just going to go out there and play hard."
On her hitting: "Right now I am just seeing the ball real well. When I go up to the plate I don't want to get over anxious. I'm just trying to find the right pitches to hit."
ARIZONA PITCHER BECKY LEMKEOn the sixth inning: "My goal was to make Mendoza pop it up or hit a grounder. She is one of Stanford's best hitters. I just wanted to work her out and up and set her up for the changeup. I didn't want to let her do any damage."
STANFORD HEAD COACH JOHN RITTMAN:On the game: "Obviously, it's tough when you don't win your last game, but only one team can walk away saying they won their last game. I couldn't be more proud of the way our kids battled today. I thought Coach Alameda, all year long, has just done a fabulous job with our four pitchers. Keeping them fresh, getting them innings, keeping their mind in it, and I think it all paid off here, especially today. Pitchers definitely kept us in the game. We have to tip our hats to Becky Lemke. We faced her a couple of times the past few years and, by far, today was her best game. She had movement, she was in the strike zone. She just pitched a heck of a game. Our three kids that pitched also pitched extremely well. We had a couple of opportunities, just couldn't get the hits when we needed them. This was a fantastic year and I'm proud of my team."
On using three pitchers: "With their lineup, yeah, I pretty much was going to use the whole staff today. They're a great hitting team and one of the things you have to do is make them make adjustments. When you're showing them through the lineup three pitchers it's tough for them to make the adjustments. I'm just proud of the way our kids came out and pitched today. To come out and hold them to two hits and one run, gave us the opportunity to be in the game and a chance to win."
STANFORD FIRST BASEMAN SARAH BEESON:On Becky Lemke's pitching performance for Arizona: "I definitely think she really stepped up to the challenge today. We've seen her before. She's mainly just been up and down. Today she had very, very good side-to-side movement. She was staying in the strike zone, which is going to help her out and make us swing at some things we don't want to swing at."
STANFORD PITCHER TORI NYBERG:On the pitch Toni Mascarenas hit for a home run: "That was a high fastball from my perspective. I missed my spot on that one."