May 6, 2015

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

South Carolina Head Coach Beverly Smith

Opening Statement…
“It was a great game. I’m proud of my team. We had talked prior to the game how we were disappointed with the outcomes when we went to College Station (against Texas A&M in the regular season). I think our girls were really focused on going in and playing Gamecock softball. I’m really proud of these two girls on my right (Olivia Lawrence and Victoria Williams). They had a really big impact on the game as well as Nicki Blue she was solid in the circle today. The other thing I think was a factor for us was that we needed production from the bottom of the lineup today. We had some people really step up today. We had Olivia (Lawrence) come through with a clutch RBI today. She also had a solo shot. And of course, Victoria (Williams) had the dagger for us with the base clearing double. I’m really proud of them.”

On the controversial call at third base during the bottom of the sixth inning…
“Well, first, I did get riled up about it. It was certainly a call that didn’t go our way. I took a timeout and circled the infield together. They said they were good, but I told them that I was the one that needed the timeout. So, we had a good little laugh and talked about shutting it down here. For us, when our back is against the wall and facing adversity, it is about how we are going to answer coming off of that bad call. We just wanted to respond and knock it down with our defense.”

On facing Florida tomorrow…
“We are looking forward to the opportunity to get out there and compete against them. Same thing, we went to Gainesville (earlier this season) and didn’t have our best performance. It will be about us and playing Gamecock softball. Certainly, we know Florida’s reputation and capability. We look forward to the matchup tomorrow.”

South Carolina RF Victoria Williams

On her game-winning double in the sixth inning …
“Well, Coach (Smith) came up to me before I had to bat, and we were talking about how we needed the runs and how we needed a big production from me. We always talk about having awareness with runners in scoring position, and I had that thought going into the at-bat. I knew I needed to be productive and just hit the ball and put a good swing on a good pitch. It happened for me.”

South Carolina C Olivia Lawrence

On her at-bats against Texas A&M pitcher Rachel Fox …
“I saw Fox when we went to College Station, and I felt like I was really seeing her big today. I told a couple of teammates that `I’m on her, I’m ready.’ My first time at-bat I knew I had a job to do with bases loaded ,and I was really just trying to poke it on the ground because we know how hard LSU’s infield is. My second time at-bat, I was really trying to pick up Taylor (Williams) who struck out in front of me.”

On pitcher Nickie Blue’s performance …
“Nicki throws hard and down. She did a great job. She works her corners really well. I work for her trying to get those corner strikes. She had a little bit of an inning where they scored the runs back, but she focused. She kept shooting them in there. She did a good job finishing.”

On advancing with a comeback win at the SEC Tournament …
“When we were down 3-2, we said there was no tomorrow. It really helps because we’re on fire. We know we have to do our job, and we have to get it done today because there may not be another tomorrow.”