May 18, 2012

Recap |  Final Stats |  Notes

California Head Coach Diane Ninemire

Opening Statement:

"Well, I thought tonight, we started the game off well when Breana [Kostreba] hit the homerun and we got the three runs right away. It's really tough for a team like us to lose when we get a lead like that in the first inning. It was a great moment for us to get that edge right away so that we could take control of the game. I thought Jolene [Henderson] had a great game with her seven strikeouts and we had multi-hit games from Britt [Vonk], from Brianna, and from Frani [Echavarria], so it was a great night and a great way to start off the tournament."

On playing under the lights:

"It was so exciting out here tonight to finally come out and play in front of our fans. The excitement was fantastic and I know the players really enjoyed tonight."

On tomorrow's game versus Arkansas:

"They are an excellent team in a great conference and we expect to have a really great game tomorrow. We are going to have to come out with our best to get the win."

Junior Pitcher Jolene Henderson

On her pitching performance:

"It was fun to come out here for the opening of the tournament. We were really excited all week to play here under the lights on our field, so we have been really pumped. Arizona State prepared us really well to start off the postseason."

One her approach to the game being under the lights:

"I didn't really approach it any differently because we have had this many fans or more for all our games lately, so it wasn't any different. Playing under the lights got us up a lot more because we were so excited to be that team finally playing under the lights but we approached it like any postseason game. We just want to win and want to take charge of the game so that was the mentality that I went out there with."

On which pitches were working the best:

"The ones down the middle were working pretty well. I was throwing a lot of inside pitches and those were working pretty well too. My defense behind me was also great tonight so that was the biggest thing."

Freshman Infielder Breana Kostreba

On her homerun:

"I got an outside curve which she had thrown me on my first strike, so I got up on the plate and let it in and took it the opposite way. It felt good right away."

Senior Outfielder Frani Echavarria

On being loose before the game:

"We might not be the typical number one team but we like to say that we play hard and we have fun through the whole season and I think our chemistry is the one thing that got us here today and that is just the way we play. We play loose, and we genuinely love each other."