April 13, 2008

Box Score

Memphis Head Coach Windy Thees

Opening Remarks
When you score five runs you should win, especially in the game of softball. For us, it was defensive lapses throughout the game. The play at the end was a bad one, but we made so many bad plays throughout the game to keep us in the spot where we just had to keep fighting.

There were some great things, but the bad things right now just outweigh it. We just have to play smart. That's it. Not make mistakes with runners on base and pick yourself up and go after the next out very aggressively. If we do make an error, than we make sure that error doesn't score. Stop letting leadoff walks get on.

There are things throughout our play that we've been struggling with really all year long. But they kept in it. For a young team, we got down early and we could have lain down, but they didn't. They fought back, so in that sense I'm proud of them. We've got to clean it up.

On the pitching performance of Janelle Valle
Throwing back to back days for her (Janelle Valle) has always been a little bit of a struggle. Rayna (McClinton) came out and just didn't have it today. She didn't have it from the get go, so we brought Janelle in. She knows how to pitch. She just knows when to put something on it, when to take something off and where to locate it so they don't hit the ball too hard. For that, she did an outstanding job.

I thought she was getting tired there at the end, but we were getting out of it. They were hitting line drive double plays. Good things were still happening for us. I knew Kimber (Bossom) was warmed up, and I was like `Let's get ground balls in the infield.' Kimber's looking good. I think the speed for her matched up a little bit better with Southern Miss. I think struggled offensively with the movement that Janelle had.

On the offensive play of Maddie McKinley
Maddie had a tremendous weekend. She broke her ankle the second practice of the fall, so we didn't have her all fall. She came back and the first time she could even run and workout with the team was in January. We've kind of felt that we've always been trying to get her back. She's like a first semester freshman; even worse than a freshman.

Now toward the end of the season she's been getting playing time and getting at bats, and that's what we know she can do. That's why we brought her here because she's got such potential for power. She has amazingly quick hands. She plays a good solid third base.

She's definitely our player of the weekend. It's a fight between Janelle and her, but Maddie, because what she has overcome her freshman year, I'd give it to her. She did a great job. She put us back on top there at the end and gave us a chance to win. We didn't finish in the field, but she gave us a chance offensively.

On the offensive play of Tori Gross
The last three weeks Tori has been hitting .350. When you talk about something like that at the bottom of your lineup, that's great. We just have to put it all together.

On facing Alcorn State on Tuesday
I like midweek games because they keep you focused; they keep you sharp. Sometimes practice can be a little bit monotonous when you go a whole week. It will be good to have them in here and good for our pitchers to get out there and keep throwing. Get Rayna (McClinton) back in the groove, get Kimber (Bossom) back on top, get Janelle (Valle) back in there and get all three of our freshman more innings so they're ready to go down to Orlando and face a good Central Florida team.