May 20, 2006
Illinois State Head Coach Melinda Fischer
“I thought we played a good game. Shannon hadn’t pitched for us in awhile and she came in and played well and kept Nebraska off-balance. She did a great job for us. We caught a break and got that first run but other than that we had trouble putting the bat on the ball.
I wasn’t surprised that Shannon did so well; she’s been itching to get out there. We just found that Stacy’s been on a roll for us but I thought she looked a little tired toward the end of the Iowa game. I thought I’d start with Shannon and see how long she could go, and I thought she did a great job for us.”
On the success of the senior class….
“Our seniors I thought had great careers. They provided tremendous leadership and we started in the fall. A lot of our success this season was due to our seniors being able to lead our new players and freshmen and guiding them. I think it’s those kinds of things you hope they can learn and take on to other areas of their lives.”
On the experience competing at Regionals…
“It’s been huge having this experience. Anytime you get into postseason, its all preparation for the future.”
Nebraska Head Coach Rhonda Revelle
“That was our 29th way of winning a ballgame tonight and it really was about Ashley (DeBuhr) and Ashley taking charge out there. To have a game this afternoon where she got hit and got ruffed up a little bit, and then to come back and respond the way she did tonight and give us 14 free outs was huge.The two hits they got were 4-6 foot hits that they just happen to get on. The other key thing for us was really our seniors.
One of the things we tried to do in our huddle was to not get desperate and to not tighten up. We really tried to make it about us, and make it about playing for each other. We wanted to play tomorrow together.”
About facing California tomorrow…
“We’re pretty familiar with facing great pitching, we have a pitcher in the league who has been pretty good throughout her career. I really think that we really sent a message that if we put the ball in play if we can make them play defense we feel like we can make some things happen. This morning (against Cal) we kept fighting, we didn’t just roll over and keep letting them score or not work to score. We’re encouraged by the effort that we had this morning and we’re excited for the opportunity tomorrow.”
Nebraska Senior Trisha Tannahill
“When we cut down on our swings and misses and put the ball in play then good things are going to happen. It took a little longer than we would have liked this second game, but we’re not worried, we’re ready for tomorrow.