The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas Softball Media Day [Quotes]
01.31.2014 | Softball
Head coach Connie Clark and the players addressed local reporters at Friday's Media Day
Head Coach Connie Clark
Opening Statement:
"Here we are, I cannot believe it is about to be February tomorrow, it has gone quickly. It feels like we were at the World Series in June only a few weeks ago. It is exciting. The fun thing about coaching is it is never boring, there is always a different team in, there is always a different look, a new challenge of getting a new team motivated, and trying to reach the same expectations of last year's squad. It is an exciting time for myself and the team. We have some young ones in the mix, most specifically the youth in the circle. There is youth but there is no doubt that we are surrounding them with some tremendous talent especially with [senior catcher] Mandy Ogle taking leadership of the squad back there. Any time that you have a young pitching squad, you are hopeful that there are veterans in the catching staff. Mandy, Erin [Shireman], Karina [Scott], and Taylor [King] are returners, so we feel good about the anchor. The team is also surrounded up the middle with Taylor Thom, an All-American, Stephanie [Ceo] at second base and Brejae [Washington] at center. We feel that we are strong up the middle. It will really be a matter of time in regards to getting that young pitching staff developed, we will take some thumps in the beginning."
On how getting to the Women's College World Series helped the veterans:
"It helped a lot for the veterans to get over the hump to get to the World Series. Last summer when I sat down with the returners without the freshman in the room, all the upperclassmen where concerned about how we could get the new members ready, what would we do. It was a high level of anxiety they were going through, with good reason. They want to be great stewards of the program. They want to put the young ones that we have on their back to show them how we do things at Texas, especially now that they have had that taste of the College World Series when we have been so close for years. It has been a good preseason so far. We will be as ready as we are going to be on Feb.6. It is a good squad with some good leaders. They are ready to show the young ones how to get it done."
On Texas Softball taking the thump early:
"I would be really surprised if it does not go that way. The game is still a game though. We may go out and dominate early, get a false sense of how good they think they are, and then get thumped later on. We are starting on the road which has not happened in years. It is an extra incentive for the young ones to throw them in the fire and it keeps us positive as a coaching staff. We have to keep working them hard. We have to get after them in practice as well as keep their confidence up. We have a real challenge but we are up for that. We know that will be the difference, the one piece that we have to be really, really good this year. Bring it on, we are ready."
On whom she expects to be the starting pitcher:
"Gabby Smith is the junior in the group. She was our ace in the fall and after the holidays. She seems to have the best stuff with the best command at this point in time. She is ready. It is interesting to think that she has a couple of years under her belt. She is a great athlete. If she is not in the circle she will be in right field and in the hitting lineup. She will get the call on Opening Day. We have to give her the ball early. Holly Kern is a sophomore. I am also really excited about Tiarra Davis. Tiarra is a lefty, we haven't had a lefty here since [Cat] Osterman."
On whether the rankings are accurate reflections of where the team is now:
"I really do not know. I think it is a group that we will not know until they get into the thick of things and see how they rebound from the times that we will get kicked around a bit. That is what will determine everything. By the end of the stretch, I will expect that those will be accurate. It is about confidence. We can contend for a Big 12 Championship, we are not the only school that lost pitchers. OU graduated pitchers as well. We are ready to go to battle. Baylor has the most experience in the circle. Outside of the circle, everything is up for grabs. Really the top five in the Big 12 can contend for the title. It is going to be one of those years where it is up in the air."
On who will be the leadoff hitter will be:
"I am not sure yet. We are still working on figuring out the top nine hitters. Obviously, we are given a couple of looks; Brejae Washington and Taylor Thom are in the mix for that, but we will figure that out next week."
On which returners have improved:
"Gabby Smith and Lindsey Stephens are the ones that really stick out to me. Both of those young women played in a league this summer in North Carolina. The looks and the rips that they got were pretty significant. They will pay off. Gaby got to pitch and play outfield there, she was a utility player. Stephens kept us in the Tennessee game that was close to us facing OU in the finals and then she hit the big home run on a big stage. They are both very exciting. Taylor Thom is another one I cannot say enough about. She is really excited about her senior season, especially coming off last year. She is ready to lead. I can never go without mentioning Mandy Ogle in a conversation. She is our rock behind home plate, we need that leadership."
On senior shortstop Taylor Thom:
"She has absolutely improved over the years she has been here. We really say her bloom in her junior year. She put up great numbers as a freshman and then she went through the sophomore year where everyone saw the scouting report on her, so they pitched differently. She had to raise the bar as a junior, she matured. She got so much better coming into her junior year last year. She is an amazing athlete; she has great range, she has speed and brings everything that we need to the table. She will be a great player to watch."
On the Texas offense:
"I think that our offense is really going to be one of our strongpoints. We have our returning leader of stolen bases with Brejae. Taylor Thom can run too. We like to get people in motion and we like to put pressure on the defense. I don't think that our offense will look much different. I feel really solid about our offense keeping us alive while pitching gets to where it needs to be. I have talked to our hitting coach [Corrie Hill], if she can spot us seven runs in these early ones, we will be in good shape [laughing]."
On the non-conference schedule:
"We always play a really difficult non-conference schedule because it prepares and challenges us so that when we get to conference and postseason, we feel that we have been there before. We are doing an extra add to that with starting the season on the road. It has been years since we have done that. We will be at LSU next week to start. The [Louisiana Lafayette] Ragin' Cajun fans are no less crazy than they use to be. It will be good for our team to be in that environment, to see how they perform 'under pressure'. We will have to work through that, they will definitely be challenged."
Senior catcher Mandy Ogle
On the pitching staff: "Everybody is doing great. [Junior pitcher] Gabby [Smith] definitely improved on some of her pitches as well as developed a new pitch. [Sophomore pitcher] Holly [Kern] is working through things and she actually came out yesterday and put on a great performance when we were scrimmaging. [Freshman pitcher] Lauren [Slatten], she has the pitcher's mentality that you want. She wants the ball when she's on the mound. [Freshman pitcher] Tiarra [Davis], she's right there with it. It's good to have a lefty on our staff and her movement is great."
On losing leadership from last year: "There will be big shoes to fill, but I don't know if we will necessarily be filling them. We will be starting our own legacy that we will leave behind this year. Out here on the field, we've been waiting to take the leadership of the team, so I think it's up to us four [seniors] to lead together and not just having two or three."
On last year's College World Series taking momentum into the new season: "We actually know what it takes to get there now. You always talk about what you actually need, but by actually being there, I think it'll be easier to get back to it. We know what it felt like and we just want to get back there again."
Senior shortstop Taylor Thom
On excitement to start a new season: "It's so exciting. It's hard to believe another one is here and it's hard to believe that it's my senior year. Practice is going good and we are ready to get on the field."
On preseason rankings: "I think it's definitely something we embrace. Coming off of the World Series last year, we probably expected the ranking. I think we all are excited about the ranking and excited to prove that we are in the Top 10."
On momentum from last season's World Series run: "I think it definitely helps. We always had that thing hanging over our heads that we can't make it to the World Series and that Regionals hurts us. I think the fact that we made it last year gives us all the belief that that we can make the World Series and we have a good enough team that we can get it done again this season."
Senior outfielder Brejae Washington
On improvements from last season: "I think feeding off of the World Series alone, we are ready to get after it. We know what it takes to get there again and it's just a matter of putting in the work during winter break and doing the little things at this point to get back to the World Series."
On opening on the road: "It's going to be different for all of us. I know since I've been here, we've never opened up on the road. It's something different. Change is always good. We can't be any more prepared than we already are. We're ready to get after it."
On patience at the start of season with the big freshman class: "I think this year it's going to be a matter of just rolling into it. It's going to be a cool transition. I think it's going to be something different that we aren't used to."
Junior pitcher Gabby Smith
On how she goes into the season with being the oldest pitcher on the staff: "I've worked really hard this summer working to get to where I need to be because I don't have much experience. Blaire [Luna] was so dominate during her four years here and I knew my role when I came here was right field. I knew she'd be pitching and now it's just kind of nice to just pitch again, because I haven't really pitched that much at all since I've been here."
On having senior Mandy Ogle behind the plate: "Mandy is amazing. I would say she is one of the best catchers I've ever pitched with. She's just dominant and she frames well. She knows how to call wherever the batter is. She can call the pitches great and she is just a really good leader. She keeps me in check."
On what she has been working on to improve her different pitches: "Basically just having confidence. It's hard to be a great pitcher when you're just pitching to a catcher in the bullpen. Facing a batter is the biggest thing that I needed because I needed to get my confidence back because it had been such a long time."
Sophomore pitcher Holly Kern:
On what she feels she has improved on the most since last season: "Probably my mental approach. I fell like 90 percent of pitching is the mentality and being able to work pitch-to-pitch. I think that was something I was really struggling with last year – my confidence and kind of just lost focus once something bad happened. This year I think I've definitely been able to work pitch-to-pitch and if something bad happens last pitch, I can't worry about it anymore."
On what helps her improve her mental game: "I think it's mainly Coach Clark and even Coach Hill, offensively, pitch-to-pitch. It's probably the most important aspect of our game and it's also the hardest to concur. Coach Clark does a good job at. She tell me to 'Just take a deep breath,' and it really helps my body. So, it's mainly Coach Clark."
On what Blaire Luna's mindset was like last year: "With Blaire you could never tell if she was mad or sad. She was very stoned-faced, but she had a quiet confidence. She was never arrogant, but she had a confidence in knowing that she would strike them out. I've been trying to learn how to kind of be like her in the aspect of owning the batter and knowing that whatever I pitch, you won't be able to hit it."
Freshman pitcher Lauren Slatten:
On what the process is like coming on to a team like Texas and learning from players like Mandy Ogle: "I think it's been very good. She's very good with the younger pitchers. She's really honest with us and that's what we need coming to this level after coming from select ball. She tells us what we need to work on, but she isn't rude in any way about it. She does it to help us get better. It's her only year with us, so she wants us to be the best that we can. She's really good at that and just letting us know what we need to work on."
On if she feels any added pressure: "Well, I mean in Texas softball history, we've had some amazing pitchers like Cat Osterman and Blaire Luna. Luna just left, so that's some big shoes to fill. Coming in I do feel kind of pressured, but it's only personal, because I want to be the best I can. I want to be able to fill those shoes, so every day that I can, I have been working really hard to be where I need to be for season."
On what she's looking for in the non-conference schedule to get her ready for conference play: "Recently in practice we've been working on our mental game. I think for the non-conference season I just want to be able to get my mental game ready for when conference play gets here. I'm just working on what I need to improve on so that I can be where I need to be in the season."
