May 18, 2007
Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
South Carolina- N.C. State
NCAA Softball Regional
Friday, May 18
Game 2: South Carolina 5, NC State 2
South Carolina Postgame Quotes
South Carolina Head Coach Joyce Compton:
“I think today we came out and played solid defense in the first couple of innings and that really propelled us into the later innings, especially when Adele (Voigt) threw the runner out at home. It’s nice to get some runs early. That kind of set the whole tone of the game. They answered with some runs but we were able to answer them back. Melissa (Hendon) did a good job of keeping the hitters off balance and she figured them out in the early innings. After that, we played solid defense and were pretty aggressive.”
“All season long we have had a good team. If we had 10 more hits, then we would have 10 more wins. We’ve had a lot of one-run losses but have played well which has helped the confidence of the team.”
“We took advantage of a couple of things with the passed ball and the walks. We have played solid defense all year and our pitching has been good as well. Both Kate (Pouliot) and Melissa have pitched well all year, well enough to win a few more wins.”
South Carolina First Baseman Jacqueline Wetherbee
On her home run:
“It was a change up and normally I have trouble with those. I just saw the ball coming at me and took a swing and luckily it paid off. It wouldn’t have been that impressive if it weren’t for the runners on base, so I’m really proud of my team.”
“We came in as four seed and they were the number one seed, but that really doesn’t mean anything to us. We know that we are totally capable of beating any team that we play.”
“We have nothing to lose coming into the game today. We are a really fun team and we don’t really play well when we are tight. We just tried to come out and have fun and cheer so that we stay loose so we can win games.”
South Carolina Pitcher Melissa Hendon
“I think that the team prepared for this all year. We wanted to keep the season going as long as possible. Everyone came out tonight and played hard. We worked hard all week long on fundamentals and just had fun. Everyone had a positive attitude about this weekend. We knew coming into the game that we would be playing some really solid teams.”
“Everyone knew that we are down to the top teams in the nation and everyone that you play is going to be great. We play in a tough conference and have had tough games all year that has prepared us for the post-season.”
NC State Quotes
Head Coach Lisa Navas
On the Gamecocks’ hitting and Jacqueline Wetherbee’s home run: “I don’t think that they hit hard, just little bloopers that just fall in. Abbie (Sims) had one change up that she had been throwing that they had been whiffing on, but the nine-hole batter got a hold of it and that was the difference in the ball game.”
On Abbie Sims and the home run pitch: “That’s been Abbie’s bread and butter pitch for four years. She’s made people look stupid on it.”
“Abbie no hit Oklahoma. Everyday you have to come out. She was a little tight but I think she pitched well.”
On Melissa Hendon:
“I don’t think she kept us off balance, but she did a good job. She gets the “W” in that situation but we had the same amount of hits as they did. Everybody looks at us like we need to be top 10 in the country, and it’s not an excuse but these kids are still young and immature in terms of a four-year program. This is only our second times in the NCAAs.”
“I love these kids and they are great kids. They are nine kids who have gotten us to this point, but they still have to grow up in terms of knowing that they belong.”
“I’m proud of the kids. They hit the ball hard. Everybody we got on we pretty much scored. I think I’ve gotten Jen (Chamberlin) thrown out at the plate about 10 times this year. If she’d get a little quicker we would be all right.”
On the tough road ahead in the loser’s bracket:
“You have to win. This isn’t a good time to be in a slump, and we are just not getting the breaks. We are hitting the ball hard, we had four or five shots out into the outfield. You know it’s not your day when you hit a shot 220 feet and the fence stops it.”
Senior Jen Chamberlin
On what she thought about Melissa Hendon: “She was all right. She did a good job. That has been our problem for the past couple of games; We are just not getting our breaks. She got the “W” but she didn’t get us.”
