The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Florida State 13, UAB 1 (6)
5/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 21, 2011
2011 NCAA Softball Championship
Athens Regional • May 20-22
Jack Turner Stadium • Athens, Ga.
Florida State 13, UAB 1 (6)
Game Five Post-Game Quotes
Florida State Head Coach Lonni Alameda
On the game...
"I think we've been here before with our backs to the wall. It was a good opportunity to come out, put the ball and play and run the bases well. We played two very energetic ball clubs, and we are very excited to be able to come out and play on Sunday."
On facing Georgia on Sunday...
"It's going to be a grind and we know that. They are solid one through nine, and their pitching is good. We have to go out and we can't think Georgia Bulldogs; we have to play our game, and our game is a little different from their game. We have to just keep battling, and we saw that today. I know sitting here last night, what we saw wasn't the ballclub we are capable of being. We brought that up today, and we have to bring that out again tomorrow. I suspect that this team will."
FSU shortstop, #9 Ashley Stager
"It was nice to be able to come back and get through the first game and then come back and play UAB and show them what it's like to play the Florida State Seminoles."
On the difference between yesterday and today...
"Yesterday we kind of played nervous, and that isn't really how we had been playing lately. Coach had a little talk with us and told us to play like we had been. We got our energy back up and it was fun again."
UAB Head Coach Marla Townsend
Opening Statement...
"This game is obviously not a reflection of the season that we've had. If I'd have my pick, I think that I'd rather fall apart in the first game of the year than the last game. In fact, we started the season 0-2 and not since that point have we had back-to-back losses until today and that speaks a lot, due to the caliber of the teams that we have played, a of what these girls are made of. You saw that in the seventh inning. They came back and got three hits in a row. Caley [Walden], not a lot of athletes get a hit in their final at bat and I'm so pumped for her and Sallie [Van Kirk] that they did that and that's what they're going to remember."
On the outlook for next season...
"We have some young people. We have some outstanding seniors that we lose, but they did an outstanding job of providing leadership and we've got a lot of young players and a lot of young athletes coming in. Each year, we're going to make it our goal to get back to the NCAA Tournament. We'll look back at the close losses that we've had and we will continue to pound away and eliminate the one run losses. It hurts, but it hurts just like a 1-0 loss. When you look at it and see there is only one error on the book, you know that Florida State did their job. I hate that we didn't give them a good game to prepare them better for tomorrow but I think they're an outstanding team. Anytime you face someone back-to-back, it's going to be tough."
UAB centerfielder, #18 Caley Walden
On the game...
"We went into the game knowing that we could win. We had some downfalls but we never gave up. I knew in the last inning that me and Sallie, it was our last at-bat ever in our career. I saw her get on and I was like, `I will not get out.' She got a hit in her last at-bat ever and I seriously got the chills. I got up there and I looked at coach and I wasn't ever going to give up. It was a tough loss, but we can't look at this as the whole season. We have to remember the good times that we've had."
