May 18, 2001
Stanford Head Coach John Rittman
Opening Statement: I think it was critical that we came out and jumped on Central Michigan early. We have a lot of respect for that program, obviously, and I think it took a lot of pressure off of us emotionally. After last year at regionals, Central Michigan played an outstanding game and beat us. We had that in the back of our minds and had a lot of respect for their program and what they've accomplished. Throughout the game we had a lot of chances, left 15 runners on base - that's plenty of opportunity to put the game away, but at the same time - hats off to Central Michigan. Margo [Jonker] used all three pitchers and kept us off balance. I thought that was a good job on her part - a good coaching move to keep us off balance because it definitely worked. On our be half, our kids are very focused, they're playing smart right now. We're looking forward to tomorrow.
Q. Last year, Central Michigan beat you in Ann Arbor - was this any type of retribution for you?
A. Not really. When you get to this level, you can be a one-seed a six-seed, it doesn't matter. You have to play. You have to bring you're A-game. Last year, against Central Michigan, it was a hard-fought battle. There was an hour rain delay, Central Michigan made every defensive play, we made a mistake late in the game that eventually cost us the game. The next day to go out and lose to Michigan, who had been upset, and lose another one-run game, it was tough. We didn't get a lot of breaks. This year, we definitely have a different approach, a different attitude. Instead of waiting for the breaks to happen, we're making them.
Stanford Player Kira Ching
Q. How did you feel at the plate today?
A. I felt pretty confident today. I just want to go out there and make contact when there are runners in scoring position.
Central Michigan Head Coach Margo Jonker
Opening Statement: We had a good run this year, winning the Mid-American conference tournament was a highlight and being able to represent the conference in the regional tournament and this morning when we hit so well [in the 10-0 win over Hofstra] and we really played a great ball game. Stanford's obviously a very good team, they got some hits early, they scored early, which makes an impact - they did a nice job.
Q. Did it change your coaching philosophy at all when Stanford got up 2-0 right out of the gate?
A. It changes it a little bit, because you can't be quite as aggressive, but really early in the game it doesn't change it a great deal b/c you know you have the whole game to come back. When it gets to be towards the fifth or sixth inning then it changes it tremendously.
Q. Any more thoughts on the season?
A. I think our seniors did a great job of pulling the team together, we struggled with some things early in the season. For us to come back has really united this team, to achieve these goals was a great honor for them, they should very proud.
Q. For the seniors, how does this feel at the end of your careers, what are your thoughts about the tournament and season?
Central Michigan Player Kim Burke
A. The season has been great the three of us have had a chance to accomplish one of our major goals which is winning the MAC [Mid-American Conference], which is just a great honor, to represent CMU out in California.
Central Michigan Player Amy Morrison
A. Our team got off to a rocky start, we sailed through the year and at the end we have a lot to be proud of.
Central Michigan Player Hope Robertshaw
A. We had a great year this year, the team's so close, and its just hard to leave them. We're very proud of everybody.