May 20, 2001
Box Score|Recap|NCAA Regionals
Pacific Head Coach Brian Kolze
Opening Statement: I don't know what more I can say about this group of young ladies. I think the 15 of them are probably the only ones that believed they could be here today. I'm proud to have coached them. They played a great Stanford team that pushed them to the limit for which the players deserve all the credit on that. I want to wish Stanford all the luck in Oklahoma. They played a great two games. We were able to scratch out some stuff in the first game, but they got the runs in the second game. All I can really say to our team is that they set a bar that I hope coaching at Pacific that we can challenge that bar that was raised by this year's team. 50 wins, numerous school records, but most importantly a group of players who I've probably had more fun coaching than any in my 15 years in college softball. The belief that they had in themselves is far stronger than any coach could put in to them in regards to fundamentals and teaching skills. That's something you can't teach, that's something they earn amongst themselves with their pride and their respect in taking a school like Pacific to this level. All I can say about the game is that it ended the season, but it did not make the season for our program.
Q. What was your philosophy in using Cindy [Ball] again in the second game?
A. It's no mystery that she was a big part in getting us here and they really didn't do much off of her in the first game. She didn't throw that many pitches, she threw hardly any yesterday. Her pitch count was very low and I think I know Cindy well enough that she wants the ball in that situation. As a coach, you put the ball into her hands when she wants it that much. They are a great hitting team and they made some quick adjustments. It was a dink, a hit batter and then a big hit and then a home run. She was doing fine until she had to throw to [Jessica] Mendoza, but she had to throw to Mendoza. They hit two or three bloopers, but that's all you need to set the table. Really, they got big hits. It wasn't so much how hard they hit the ball, but they're timing was great. I don't have any regrets at all in starting Cindy in that situation because I would do it again. I would do it again.
Pacific Player Adrienne Ratajczak
Q. Did you feel deflated after being down early to Stanford in the second game?
A. Honestly, I went out there with the same intentions to take it one pitch at a time. Even when they scored those runs, I still saw it one pitch at a time. You've got to do that in order to win, just take it one pitch at a time. You've got to fight, and they've got to fight. If they score some, you just have to try your best to get the runs across also.
Q. What will you remember most about this year?
A. How much fun I had playing with this team. We play together with heart. I've never played on a team like that before. Everybody working for the same goal.
Pacific Player Cindy Ball
Q. You've pitched a lot over the weekend, how were you going into the second game of the day?
A. I felt fine, but when a good hitting team like [Stanford] sees another pitcher right after another, they're going to adjust and they did.
Q. How would you rate your performance in the first game?
A. I think it was probably one of my best games. My pitches were working and I was getting ahead of batters and my defense was doing great behind me.
Pacific Player Barbara Moody
Q. How will you approach next year - similar to the preseason work you did this year without the coaches?
A. This year, we set a mission. We called it "Mission 2001." Next year, we're going to go out with "Mission 2002." It starts in the fall. We're going to work hard, just like we did this year - if not harder to get where we need to get at the end of the season. We did a lot of hard work this year, and it's going to take a lot of hard work to get where we need to be. We're losing a lot of good players, but we're getting a lot of good players too.
Stanford Head Coach John Rittman
Opening Statement: Obviously, it was a very long day today. First of all, game one, I thought Cindy Ball did an excellent job of pitching her game and staying with her game. I think we were a little tight - defensively made a few miscues and gave the momentum to them early in the game and just never recaptured it. I take my hat off to Cindy Ball and the University of Pacific for the way they played. I think we were playing not to lose in the first game instead of going in and taking charge and playing like we played all weekend. Luckily, we were in the position where we could lose a game. After the first game, I was wondering what the heck I was going to tell the team. I walked across the field, told them we had to change dugouts, talked to my assistant coach Lonni [Alameda] about who we were going to pitch and got in the dugout, and didn't need to say anything. I could see it in their eyes. They were ticked off. It wasn't that they were panicked. They were mad. Game two started and right off the get-go to get those two huge runs took a lot of pressure off us, but also off Dana [Sorensen] in the circle. Kira [Ching]'s been coming up big for us all year and finally made the adjustment on the outside pitch and she drove it. We just had people battling all day. Jenni Shideler with the big homerun to give us a little bit of a cushion. I can't say enough about the way our team fought back today and continued to battle.
Q. Can you talk about the decision to use Dana again?
A. I think in the first game, Dana was throwing the ball. She wasn't pitching, she was throwing. She really had no rhythm, and I looked at coach and asked her what she thought, and we were both thinking along the same lines to start Dana and see what she's got left - and then we've got three other very capable pitchers that we can go to. Dana's done a great job for us all year, and I just felt like if we could get her to settle down a little bit and start pitching instead of throwing, that she could do okay for three or four innings. Then we got the lead and she settled down and pitched pretty well, and then Tori [Nyberg] came in and did the hob in the last inning.
Stanford Player Dana Sorensen
Q. How much did you have left going into the second game and how did having the two-run cushion help you?
A. Coming out of the first game, I definitely didn't have what I wanted to have. I was tired and it's a hot day, but like coach was saying, when we walked to the other dugout and they told me that I was going to start the second one, I just decided that whatever I have, I'm going to go out there with all that I have for as long as I can. If I can't go seven, that's fine. I'll give the team however long I can go. We were really excited in the dugout, really pumped up when Kira got us all going. It was all adrenaline for me in the first few innings. I seemed to have a pop on the ball back. I can't really explain it, but I think it was a lot of adrenaline and excitement.
Stanford Player Jessica Mendoza
Q. How did you feel going into the second game?
A. Initially, there was definitely a lull just because losing and having it be a tough loss, but we realized to get to the World Series, it's not going to be easy - we're going to face some adversity on the way. We just came together, and I looked around and it was in everyone's eyes. We were going to give it everything we had. I know that if we play the best we can play, no one can beat us. Looking around, seeing that everyone was going to do that - before that first inning even happened, I just felt it. We were all there together. That's just the kind of team we are, even after the first loss, for all of us to come together like that - it was amazing.
Q. Can you talk about the pitch where you hit a grand slam and what you were thinking when you saw it go out?
A. I actually wasn't sure at first. When the pitch came, I just reacted. When I saw it go out, it was so team. I just felt like everyone was there with me. It was a rush of emotions, I can't really explain it. As soon as I hit it, I felt like I was sprinting around the bases. I couldn't wait to get home and be with everybody and just scream. I wanted to scream as soon as I saw it go out. As soon as I got home, I wanted to live that forever, that's what we play for.
Stanford Player Sarah Beeson
Q. How did you feel going into the second game?
A. We were a little mad. The last two years, we've had awesome seasons just to lose it in the end. I think that after the first game, it was just a matter of it's not going to happen - we're going. We've got such an awesome team and such amazing chemistry, and we've known it all year that this was our purpose to go to the College World Series and take Stanford's program to a place we haven't been before. I was mad and they weren't going to take it away from us.
Q. What's it like to know you're going to the College World Series?
A. I'm so excited to go. I can't wait!
Stanford Player Jenni Shideler
Q. As a senior what's it like to know you're going to the College World Series?
A. When I saw that Central Michigan and Pacific were in our region, I was really excited. In the past two years, both of them played a part in knocking us out. Our team stayed mentally focused all year and we have such great chemistry. It's pretty nice. I felt like it was fate that they were coming here and we got a second chance to play them and show them what we were really all about.