Softball Wins College World Series Opener over DePaul
June 21, 1999 | Softball
May 27, 1999
Game 1: UCLA 3, DePaul 2 (9 innings)
UCLA Head Coach Sue Enquist
General Comments: "Well, it wasn't very pretty. The first game is always unpredictable and it feels good to get it under our belts. It was our defense that kept us in it today. I was a little disappointed in how we played offense. I tip my hat to DePaul, they were not going to give up. They were not going to beat themselves. They're legit."
On Christie Ambrosi: "When the game is on the line and you have someone in the box, Christie Ambrosi is the one I would put in. Julie Adams just had arm surgery. She's been the backbone of the team not just with her stick, but with her leadership. I am real proud of how our team adjusted without Julie."
UCLA Junior Christie Ambrosi
General Comments: "I was a little nervous, but I felt good. I had a lot of things going through my mind and one of those things was my teammates and everything we've gone through this year. We've worked so hard and we want it really bad so I just thought about that."
UCLA Freshman Crissy Buck
On Game-Winning Home Run: "I was just looking for a base hit. I was looking to get something started. Of course everyone wants to hit a home run in that situation, but I wasn't thinking about a home run."
UCLA Sophomore Courtney Dale
On Her Performance: "There was pressure but we've been under pressure before. They just came out swinging at me today."
DePaul Head Coach Eugene Lenti
General comments: "This was a great ball game. I thought the kids played excellent and the we put ourselves in a position to win. It was a great battle between two great teams. They could be the best team that we see in the tournament. It's a type of game you expect to see in the College World Series, a 3-2 game. We couldn't be more proud of our players, our fans and people who have come to support DePaul."
"We're not use to the crowd noise, really. It's different. I'm a very loud person, even without the microphone, and they were just having a hard time hearing me out there. We are definitely proud of the way we played. We just let one get away but we are not done yet."
On letting it slip away: "We feel that we let one get away. We had them on their heels a little bit. We excused things that we thought would work and they knew that we were not going to just sit back."
DePaul Senior Katy Carter
On making diving catch and throwing for the double play: "All I know is that I had to get to the ball and with everybody yelling I figured she was running. I just jumped up and how my throw was straight I really don't know."
DePaul Senior Nicole Terpstra
One out away in the seventh: "I tried to throw her a pitch she had not seen yet. I made a mistake with the rise ball because I knew that I threw it kind of fat. Sometimes a good hitter hits good pitches and you have to give credit to good hitters. She hit a good pitch and there's nothing you can do about that."