May 8, 2007 Ohio State Softball Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 8, 2007
Linda Kalafatis, head coach
On the Big Ten Tournament
“We changed the Big Ten Tournament from a double elimination game to a single elimination because we found that it was just too much for the teams after a regular Big Ten season and we wanted to lighten up the schedule.”
“We plan to change the game plan a little bit, since we’ve played a few of these teams before. I assume the other teams will be changing up their game plans a little bit, as well.”
On playing at Buckeye Field, where OSU is 16-0 this season “I’m not sure if we emphasized home games more in order to remain undefeated at Buckeye Field. It could be because we traveled so much that it was a comfort to play at home. It could also be the tradition of being excellent at Ohio State or a mix of all three of these things.”
“It is a more comfortable situation now that we don’t have to travel again for the Big Ten Tournament. Playing in front of our fans, who were great all season and especially this past weekend, is another motivating factor for our team. However, we are now the team to beat. We’re going to try to keep that edge. I sense the girls playing with a lot of confidence and they’re proud of what they’ve done. We just need to keep them hungry, tuned up and feeling good for this weekend.”
Brittany Vanderink, junior second baseman
On hosting the Big Ten tournament
“It’s an honor that these teams are coming play in our field and for us to have the privilege to stay at home and not travel.”
“Any team going into their season hopes to win a conference title. For us, we knew we had a lot of young girls, so our main focus was to get them to be a part of our family here. We also wanted to work on filling the gaps that formed from the girls we lost last year. This season we were able to accomplish all of that and more by winning the title and it’s a great feeling.” “For us, it was a mental toughness we had that kept the momentum going throughout the season. We’re all fatigued in some way or another. We just need to come out and focus on getting to that final game on Saturday.”
On sweeping Penn State last weekend
“We were all a little nervous before game two against Penn State. Going into the seventh inning, we knew that whoever scored the first run would probably win. The determination was there, but we had to step up our game offensively. We were able to do that in the seventh inning and accomplished what we wanted to.”
Lauren Daykin, senior designated player/catcher
On winning the Big Ten and hosting the tournament
“It’s an awesome feeling to be Big Ten champions and to be hosting the tournament at home. I went into the locker room this morning and told the girls `you know, we could be traveling right now.’ We’ve had an amazing crowd this year that served as a great motivation throughout our games. Hopefully we’ll have a great turnout for the tournament.”
“I always knew we had the potential to be a great team. It takes a lot to win a championship and it took a lot of hard work on our part, but the team came through. We had a lot of clutch hits and plays throughout the entire season. We have great players on our team that include Jamee in the circle, Nycole, Christina, Megan and more. Looking at a roster like that, you can see that the entire team shared the potential to win the Big Ten Title.”
On the Penn State series last weekend
“When we were playing Penn State, we were just hungry and wanted it to be in our destiny to win that second game. It meant a lot to us. Nycole made two clutch plays and Jamee did what she’s best at doing. I had faith that we would produce throughout the entire game and in that seventh inning, we did it.”
“We’re really excited about our Big Ten title, but it’s not over yet. We have bigger things to do and focus on now. We want to win the tournament.”
### Go Bucks! ###
