May 16, 2002

2002 NCAA Division I
Women’s Softball Region I Tournament
May 16-19, 202
Beckham Field (Columbia, SC)

Game One Quotes — (#1 UCLA vs. #6 Liberty)

UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist
“It’s nice to get the first game under our belts. I was disappointed about not making the adjustments as quickly as I hoped. Once we made those adjustments, we did better.”

“We were strong in the circle and solid defensively.”

“I have to compliment Liberty who came out today and competed.”

UCLA First Baseman Taira Mims
(About her home run) “I tried stay relaxed and see the ball like I’ve been seeing it all year.”

(About first game nervousness) “When it’s the first game of regionals, you’re always nervous. But it was an excited nervousness today.”

“We got out of ourselves but then we calmed down and got it done.”

Liberty Quotes

Liberty Head Coach Paul Wetmore
“We had an outstanding effort. We came into this game and I told the girls that we wanted to give it all we had and play seven one-inning games, and that’s what we did. We had aggressive base running to try and score and we almost did. Jennifer Hurley pitched a great game, especially for a Freshman. We went with her and then brought in relief once they [UCLA] started to hit her. Ali Thompson came in for Hurley and did great – she struck out Stacey Nuveman first and that’s something that most pitchers can’t say that they have done.

“Very few teams are able to take UCLA to seven innings. Our team played great today. Going into our next game, we are ready to play. Our team captain, Amanda Goc, said immediately during our team meeting “We’ve got more softball to play. We keep playing well and keep the intensity up, and we’re going to win.” That shows that our team is very excited to be here and are ready to play.”

Liberty Player Amanda Goc
“Before the game we talked about how we had to go out and give the best effort that we could. We knew we were going to see some good pitching. Now, we are ready to win. We are confident of gaining a victory tonight .

“We also thank God for everything. He has been there through it all. We’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the season and He has stuck with us. He has really blessed our team.”