May 9, 2014
Georgia Head Coach Lu Harris-Champer
Opening Statements
What an exciting game, I can’t say enough about the synergy of our team and the way that they fought out there. They played hard every pitch and every out and I thought that Chelsea (Wilkinson) was fantastic on the mound, talk about some clutch hitting. Wow, what a great game I just loved our teams synergy and fight tonight.
On message to the team when Alabama tied it up…
The biggest thing was to go back to being us. We were getting ahead of the ball and trying to do too much all by ourselves instead of sitting back relaxing and letting the ball come to us and putting it in play. I think they settled down, started seeing the ball again and really hit it well.
Georgia sophomore pitcher Chelsea Wilkinson
On her performance tonight
I was just going up there trying to make good quality pitches. My defense is always solid behind me so if I go up there and do my job, they will make plays behind me.
On pitching tomorrow
I’m ready. We want to win a championship and that is what we are here to do.
Georgia sophomore third baseman Alex Hugo
On her homerun tonight…
I just went up there knowing I didn’t have to hit it out because I had great hitters behind me and Gerri Ann (Glasco) getting on with the double. Off of the bat, it felt good, but when it hit off of the net (in the outfield) I wasn’t sure, but then I saw the signal.
On her first SEC tournament…
It has been a little different than the Big 12, but getting through the regular season you adjust really quickly. Just having a strong team at my back and then Chelsea (Wilkinson) and Gerri Ann (Glasco) are strong in the circle, it has been good. It is different in a good way.
Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy
Opening Statement
First off I want to say thanks to South Carolina for hosting the tournament. I know it’s tough when you get knocked out but you still have to do all the work. Alabama really appreciates everything that you did, and the SEC staff too. It was a great game. I thought that it could have gone either way there at the end. I really thought that we were going to pull it out. I had shades of last year when Dannae (Hays) hit the walk-off double against Texas A&M in Lexington. I think we all thought Molly (Fichtner) was going to do it, and that we were going to celebrate there again at the end. Georgia is a great team I know it will be an entertaining final, so congrats to them.
On Georgia pitcher, Chelsea Wilkerson coming in in the second inning…
Well we had second and third on. I was hoping to at least get the ball out of the infield. We did get the sacrifice fly, but it was an unorthodox sac fly, but you have to take advantage of the runners in scoring position and get them in then. We’ve said it a lot this year, but now is the time that it’s a must. Next weekend it’s the nitty gritty, Jadyn (Spencer) had a shot in the first inning; they scored two then we scored two. I thought that that was the way that it was going to go, but (Chelsea) Wilkerson did a great job too. She retired I think seven or eight in a row and we just didn’t do enough against her early.
On Selection Sunday and NCAA Expectations …
I tell the team every year when it comes down to selection Sunday that happens to be on Mother’s Day a lot, I love my mom, but that is like my favorite day of the year. Not Christmas, not Valentines Day, it just means for sixteen consecutive years that Alabama’s name is going to pop up and were going to celebrate like it was our first time, because we do have four freshman that it is their first times, and realize that you don’t take it for granted because there are some teams in our conference that have never gone, so we’re not going to take it for granted. We’re going to treat it like it is a special occasion and they’ve earned it. They’ve worked really hard since August 30th. I can’t wait to see where we land.
Alabama sophomore outfielder Haylie McCleney
On what made Wilkerson’s pitching so difficult…
I think the way that she mixes her speed is very affective and deceptive. She can throw that spinning rise anywhere in the zone it’s about 58, and she can throw hard stuff that’s about 65. I think that just picking which pitch to hit is tough alone, but seeing speeds like that and making it that drastic makes it difficult for the hitters to keep their eyes focused on one tiny thing.
Alabama junior utility player Jadyn Spencer
On what made Wilkerson’s pitching so difficult…
I agree with that also, she doesn’t miss on the white a lot, which is key for a pitcher and especially with a good hitting lineup. She does a really good job locating the ball and like Haylie (McCleney) said, it’s tough to pick which pitch to swing on.
