May 27, 2006

OKLAHOMA QUOTES - GAME 11

Head Coach - Sunny Golloway
"I am really proud of our student athletes and the way that they came back and fought today. I don't think that there is any question that yesterday was a disappointment. The way that they were able to put that behind them and come out against the team that really played well against us in the Bedlam series. It was a tall task, but it is what I have seen all year. We have a lot of character and we came back and played really well after the Bedlam series in Lincoln, Nebraska. They have a great club and for us to win two out of three there and then show the same character in coming out today and really fighting hard to get some momentum going into the NCAA Tournament. We will get on the bus and go back to Norman. Our guys are going to get some rest tomorrow, much needed rest. We will be excited to see the next two selections, first for the host and then for the individual teams coming out on Monday."

"I want our fans to know that we did put forth our best effort this week, but there is always tomorrow and we will play again. If I could give everyone a gift, I would take everyone into our dugout so they could see our energy during the game."

"When you really study the game it only takes a few things to change it. It's all a snowball effect. We probably had a little bit better effort to attack today than we have in the past. I think it's the 'relentless-going-to-stay-after-you-until-we-get-it-right attitude.'"

Player Quotes - Chuckie Caufield, RF, Sr.
"Well myself, I know that I came out tonight with determination. I was going to find some way to get on the scoreboard. If they throw it in the middle of the plate, then I still take it. I just wasn't going to be denied today."

"You could look at some games where we had opportunity to score and hit the ball and it was caught. The effort could've been better earlier but we played as hard as we could."

Player Quotes - Daniel McCutchen, P, Sr.
"It was great just to see the way our team came out to play today, especially the offense. It's pretty easy to pitch when your team puts up 21 runs on the board. They really came out ready to play today and I came out and tried to do my best on the mound."

"I think that everyone will have a lot of confidence, especially our offense who played great today. Our guys put good moves on the ball and drove the ball today so I know they'll come out looking to bring that same approach next week."

Player Quotes - Kevin Smith, 1B, Sr.
"Our aggression was to go get them and not let them take control of us. We took control of him because of what they did to us last time. We tried to move early in the count. Scoring is just like a cold, it catches on if you see someone else getting on you want to continue it."

"We're pretty upset about the Bedlam series. We could've put forth a better game. It helps a little bit that we came out and put a lot of runs up today. It gives us more confidence going into next week."

OKLAHOMA STATE QUOTES

Head Coach - Frank Anderson
"We didn't play very well defensively and we didn't have a chance to stick in the game. It's a game of if someone makes a mistake you go and pick them up. We've been doing that all year, but we didn't do that this week. We just didn't play well defensively and get the pitches we needed. We haven't won offensively and we need to get back to groundball play. We're disappointed and we'll go back to work and do things that worked in the past. We played about as bad as you could early in the year, but kids are more resilient than we are. Now for the coaches, this will be bad for them until we play again. The kids have too much going on in their lives to get too upset about this for too long. Some of them have never played in a regional and will be playing at a high level."

"Your pitching does so much to set up how you play in these things. Maybe there is a little bit more pressure (being in Oklahoma for the tournament). I don't know why or how it would be any different from the Bedlam series though."

Player Quotes - Shelby Ford, 2B, Jr.
"They came out from the beginning playing with heart and getting after the bat. Evidently they wanted the game bad and we've been on cruise control all weekend. In any conference you can't do that if you want to be successful. You have to go back to the basics and go one game at a time, one pitch at a time, one bat at a time really, and you can't try to do too much."

On hosting a regional...
"We'd love to play a regional at home, it's our home field and we play great there, but just going to a regional - period - is going to be a make-up for the tournament. We need to go out there and show that we are OSU Cowboys and we can play. There's no reason that we finished a number two seed and are playing like this. We are a high caliber team and we can play at that level."

Player Quotes - Rebel Ridling, 1B, Soph.
"They got us right off the bat and didn't give us a chance to get anything going. If we made a mistake they capitalized and that's what you're supposed to do. We're going to be excited and ready to go for the regional. Everyone likes having home field advantage, and it's not any different here. We need to show people what we can do and go back to square one and compete."