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Ole Miss Postgame Quotes (May 21)
5/21/2023 4:23 PM | Softball
Ole Miss Postgame Quotes
2023 NCAA Salt Lake City Regional
Salt Lake City, Utah (Dumke Family Softball Stadium)
No. 15 Utah 4, Ole Miss 1
Sun., May 21, 2023
First Pitch: 12:05 p.m. MT | Game Duration: 2:35
Attendance: 2,506 (sellout)
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Head Coach Jamie Trachsel; Senior Infielder Mikayla Allee; Senior Outfielder Tate Whitley
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Opening Statement
JT: "Obviously, it's never easy when your season ends—to lose a game, to not advance off of a tournament. It feels a little different when you're saying goodbye to a special group of people. When something you've worked for, for so long; especially this year. But for these guys, they're super seniors. It feels a lot different when it's the end and you're saying goodbye.
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"But I'm proud of the fight that we had today. We were ready to go. Just a game of execution. We got out-punched a little bit in this game giving up the three-spot in the second inning. Made a mistake and was a little over-aggressive in the inning that we scored a run. I'm disappointed in that. I wish we could continue to coach these people, these super seniors. They've been a blast and they've done an incredible job leading our program and leading our team. There's something still to be proud of to finish as one of the last 32 teams and playing on Championship Sunday. Give a lot of credit to Utah. That's a really balanced team. They have pitching, defense and a really dynamic offense. They were just a little bit better than us in the two games we played them. Give credit to them, and we'll wish them well moving forward."
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What similarities and differences did you see between yesterday and today?
JT: "I think it was a little different. We played cleaner defense. I think we did a better job eliminating some extra free passes that we gave yesterday. I think we gave up a couple stolen bases, especially stealing third, delayed steals. For us, we were just cleaner. You're still playing in a regional tournament. I think (we) had some nerves yesterday. (We) were much calmer, much more composed today. They were able to just stack a couple hits, especially some extra-base hits together in that second inning, which ended up being the difference in the game. But for us to hold them to one run after that, and have some opportunities. We had four innings or five innings where we had people in scoring position. Just weren't able to get that timely hit in either game. I think that was a difference in the outcomes."
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On what this senior class means to the program and you…
JT: "Seniors are always special because you don't get to coach them again. Mikayla and Tate, I've been fortunate to be able to coach for three years. You have elite players, but I'm really proud of their growth individually as people. You're different people when you're 22, 23 years old than when you're 19, 20, or however old they were. They've been through a change with the coaching staff coming in…I'm proud that they chose to come back for their fifth year, because they didn't have to do that, and they had other options that they could have explored. I'm so proud that they wanted to continue to play for our staff, for this program—and it is their program. To be able to write their names down for the last three years and not blink twice about it, and know your that team is in great hands on the field. They're part of our leadership council too—you know your team is in great hands with culture off the field. As coaches, you can't be more thankful and grateful for that. I tell them and everyone, thanks for everything that you gave Ole Miss. This program is better because you guys are in it. And it'll continue to be because of the legacy that you'll leave behind. For Mya (Stevenson), coming in here, you had an All-American hitter who can change the game with one swing. She's changed many outcomes for us this year as a dynamic two-way player. She battled a little bit of an injury that took her a little bit of time away…For her to come in here and add personality to the outfield group, which has a little band of brothers out there; they can train hard and have a really good personality out there too. Grateful for that, for her and for her choosing us. She's got a great future, she wants to stay in coaching. Savana Sikes is real special. I'd say she's a winner. She had choices too, just like Mya. Their paths are a little different than Tate (Whitley) and Mikayla (Allee) because we were fortunate to coach them for three years. But having Savana, she's tough, she loves a hostile environment. She probably creates it more often than not. She's pretty feisty, but she's a winner and she's made our team and our program better. All these guys have made me better as a coach and our program better."
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What are your thoughts on Utah's chances to get to Oklahoma City?
JT: "They're really balanced. They have an elite pitcher, a shutdown pitcher. They play really good defense. They have great team speed. And they're balanced offensively. They can find different ways to score and I think that's always tough to defend. Their lefties; they hit, they slap, they can high-hop, they can barrel the contact if it's up in the zone to get it over your infield. They've got a couple kids that can really drive the ball and score them. They can get themselves on base a couple different ways, they can get themselves in scoring position. They can bleed you kind of to death, death by paper cut a little bit. They're dynamic, and that's why I was proud of our defense today. They're really well-balanced. I think they have a shot to get to Oklahoma City and I think they have a shot to win games there too."
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How impactful was the crowd playing Utah two days in a row?
MA: "I think the SEC kind of prepares us for that. They had a great crowd and that's what you play for. You play to play in front of crowds like that. (Utah) has that grass in the outfield that was full of people. But we've played big teams with big crowds every weekend for the last eight weeks against the SEC. I don't want to go as far as saying we're used to it, but it does elevate the game and make it more exciting. I would rather play in front of a crowd like that than crickets."
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On the late return to the hotel Saturday night postgame…
TW: "I thought we came with a lot of energy. We were ready to fight. We knew ending the night that we weren't going to get a lot of sleep. But we said, so what. We've done worse. For me and Mikayla (Allee), last year when we played at UCLA it was the same exact thing; finished the night super late. It happened to us last year at the SEC Tournament. It's just something we're used to and something you expect when you're fighting from the bottom of the bracket. We were ready to accept that challenge."
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2023 NCAA Salt Lake City Regional
Salt Lake City, Utah (Dumke Family Softball Stadium)
No. 15 Utah 4, Ole Miss 1
Sun., May 21, 2023
First Pitch: 12:05 p.m. MT | Game Duration: 2:35
Attendance: 2,506 (sellout)
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Head Coach Jamie Trachsel; Senior Infielder Mikayla Allee; Senior Outfielder Tate Whitley
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Opening Statement
JT: "Obviously, it's never easy when your season ends—to lose a game, to not advance off of a tournament. It feels a little different when you're saying goodbye to a special group of people. When something you've worked for, for so long; especially this year. But for these guys, they're super seniors. It feels a lot different when it's the end and you're saying goodbye.
Â
"But I'm proud of the fight that we had today. We were ready to go. Just a game of execution. We got out-punched a little bit in this game giving up the three-spot in the second inning. Made a mistake and was a little over-aggressive in the inning that we scored a run. I'm disappointed in that. I wish we could continue to coach these people, these super seniors. They've been a blast and they've done an incredible job leading our program and leading our team. There's something still to be proud of to finish as one of the last 32 teams and playing on Championship Sunday. Give a lot of credit to Utah. That's a really balanced team. They have pitching, defense and a really dynamic offense. They were just a little bit better than us in the two games we played them. Give credit to them, and we'll wish them well moving forward."
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What similarities and differences did you see between yesterday and today?
JT: "I think it was a little different. We played cleaner defense. I think we did a better job eliminating some extra free passes that we gave yesterday. I think we gave up a couple stolen bases, especially stealing third, delayed steals. For us, we were just cleaner. You're still playing in a regional tournament. I think (we) had some nerves yesterday. (We) were much calmer, much more composed today. They were able to just stack a couple hits, especially some extra-base hits together in that second inning, which ended up being the difference in the game. But for us to hold them to one run after that, and have some opportunities. We had four innings or five innings where we had people in scoring position. Just weren't able to get that timely hit in either game. I think that was a difference in the outcomes."
Â
On what this senior class means to the program and you…
JT: "Seniors are always special because you don't get to coach them again. Mikayla and Tate, I've been fortunate to be able to coach for three years. You have elite players, but I'm really proud of their growth individually as people. You're different people when you're 22, 23 years old than when you're 19, 20, or however old they were. They've been through a change with the coaching staff coming in…I'm proud that they chose to come back for their fifth year, because they didn't have to do that, and they had other options that they could have explored. I'm so proud that they wanted to continue to play for our staff, for this program—and it is their program. To be able to write their names down for the last three years and not blink twice about it, and know your that team is in great hands on the field. They're part of our leadership council too—you know your team is in great hands with culture off the field. As coaches, you can't be more thankful and grateful for that. I tell them and everyone, thanks for everything that you gave Ole Miss. This program is better because you guys are in it. And it'll continue to be because of the legacy that you'll leave behind. For Mya (Stevenson), coming in here, you had an All-American hitter who can change the game with one swing. She's changed many outcomes for us this year as a dynamic two-way player. She battled a little bit of an injury that took her a little bit of time away…For her to come in here and add personality to the outfield group, which has a little band of brothers out there; they can train hard and have a really good personality out there too. Grateful for that, for her and for her choosing us. She's got a great future, she wants to stay in coaching. Savana Sikes is real special. I'd say she's a winner. She had choices too, just like Mya. Their paths are a little different than Tate (Whitley) and Mikayla (Allee) because we were fortunate to coach them for three years. But having Savana, she's tough, she loves a hostile environment. She probably creates it more often than not. She's pretty feisty, but she's a winner and she's made our team and our program better. All these guys have made me better as a coach and our program better."
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What are your thoughts on Utah's chances to get to Oklahoma City?
JT: "They're really balanced. They have an elite pitcher, a shutdown pitcher. They play really good defense. They have great team speed. And they're balanced offensively. They can find different ways to score and I think that's always tough to defend. Their lefties; they hit, they slap, they can high-hop, they can barrel the contact if it's up in the zone to get it over your infield. They've got a couple kids that can really drive the ball and score them. They can get themselves on base a couple different ways, they can get themselves in scoring position. They can bleed you kind of to death, death by paper cut a little bit. They're dynamic, and that's why I was proud of our defense today. They're really well-balanced. I think they have a shot to get to Oklahoma City and I think they have a shot to win games there too."
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How impactful was the crowd playing Utah two days in a row?
MA: "I think the SEC kind of prepares us for that. They had a great crowd and that's what you play for. You play to play in front of crowds like that. (Utah) has that grass in the outfield that was full of people. But we've played big teams with big crowds every weekend for the last eight weeks against the SEC. I don't want to go as far as saying we're used to it, but it does elevate the game and make it more exciting. I would rather play in front of a crowd like that than crickets."
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On the late return to the hotel Saturday night postgame…
TW: "I thought we came with a lot of energy. We were ready to fight. We knew ending the night that we weren't going to get a lot of sleep. But we said, so what. We've done worse. For me and Mikayla (Allee), last year when we played at UCLA it was the same exact thing; finished the night super late. It happened to us last year at the SEC Tournament. It's just something we're used to and something you expect when you're fighting from the bottom of the bracket. We were ready to accept that challenge."
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