University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Cal State Northridge 3, Fresno St. 1
May 18, 2001
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE HEAD COACH JANET SHERMAN
I recognize that team. That's my team. They didn't come out yesterday, but I recognize them today. It's a nice victory and beating Fresno State always makes it better. It was a great team effort and even though we got down a run I don't think there was any doubt from anybody that we weren't going to come back from it. We had clutch hitting, the bats were alive and we were aggressive. It was a much different effort from yesterday. I'm very happy how we performed. I'm proud of the team and how they battled back from yesterday. When we drove from here to the hotel last night there wasn't a word said in the van by any of the players. I think that they already knew, they knew it wasn't us. They were very sad with how they came out and played San Diego State, and they didn't want to go that way. We didn't want to end our season that way. We just wanted to come out and play our game.
GAME WINNING HOMERUN HITTER CRISTEN BEDWELL
Came out with my heart today. Halfway through the season I started to get my swing. I wasn't concentrating on driving it out, I was just concentrating on hitting on the ground up the middle. That was my main goal, and after it hit the bat I had no control of where it went. When it went over I was excited, I got chills.
COACH SHERMAN ON SUMMER RICHARDSON's HOMERUN
She hits them at practice all the time, and she hits some like that in games they just have never gone out. It was a great at bat. It wasn't the first pitch, she worked for it. It was much different from the Summer that pinch hit yesterday. She was determined, you could see it on her face. I knew she was going to hit the ball, who knew that it was going to be out of the park, that was a bonus.
FRESNO STATE HEAD COACH MARGIE WRIGHT
Well I think that we had a couple of opportunities to score. All year long we have been having to juggle our pitchers, just trying to find someone who can get the job done. And someone hitting it over the fence is something that you can not predict. I think that did change momentum, there's no question about it, but I still felt that our team could have scored. I never did think that we couldn't score.
On a three-week break before Regionals
I think that the three weeks that we sat idle, I think
that freshmen and kids that have not ever been in this
position, it's like it doesn't click in what they just
went through. I think that for the older players it
does, and we have several that came up in crucial
situations. And we had three pitchers that had never
been here in a Regional. I think that if they could
have just remembered all the goose eggs that we put on
the board the last time we played, I think that it
might have been different.
On going out of the tournament this early
Well we never have come here before, we have never had
this many new people, we have never lost as many
strong people before, we have never come back as short
handed. And then you have an addition, and you loose
her during the first part of the season. I think that
we accomplished a lot with this team this season.
FRESNO STATE OUTFIELDER BECKY WITT
On difference of team this year
Well we didn't have Amanda Scott this year. We didn't
have Laura Berg. We all had to come together as a
team. We could no longer really on the big guys to get
us through. This year it had to be a team effort every
person had to pull their own weight. I think this was
a great learning experience, it was great having to
have to rely on everyone of us to get through this,
and it was tough at the same point.