Tennessee softball is in the win column to start the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols downed Northern Kentucky 3-1 in the opening game of the Knoxville Regional on Friday.
After the game, UT head coach Karen Weekly met with the media. She was asked about handling adversity, the pitching of Erin Nuwer, offensive struggles and more.
Here’s what she said.
More From RTI: WATCH: Tennessee Softball HC Karen Weekly, Players Talk After Win Over Northern Kentucky
Opening statement
“It’s a win, and in postseason, that’s all that matters. Survive and advance, and we’re just super grateful to be playing this time of year, that we get to be together, that we get to be at home, where I mean, the stadium is absolutely beautiful, the field’s beautiful, everybody here puts so much time and effort and energy into putting on a great tournament, and it’s just super proud to be a Tennessee Volunteer when you see that out there tonight. So, really proud of our team for staying tough and figuring out a way to win, because that’s all that matters.”
On not breaking the game open on offense early
“Well, we struggled to get lead off runners on early, and then we struggled to have good at-bats with runners in scoring position. What I saw was I felt like we were being a little too hesitant in our swings. We knew what our plan was, but instead of being in a yes-yes mindset and then holding up, it felt like we were, is it? This isn’t my strike. Oh, yeah, it is. And then when we swung we were getting a lot of weak contact because we were a little bit behind.”
On Elsa Morrison’s sixth-inning home run to break the tie
“It was huge, but you know, watching Elsa navigate this whole year, she just gets better and better, and the maturity, the composure has been there all year long. You watch what she did tonight behind the plate. I mean, Erin can trust throwing her drop because she knows Elsa will block it up. And Elsa was having really good at bats leading up to that. Our first at-bat, she roped one, second one, she hit it hard, just didn’t get through the infield. So you just knew she was in a good spot when she was up to the plate, and we had a chance to do something good.”
On what she told the team before hitting in the sixth
“Just move on, flush that, it happened, so let’s move forward. And okay, how do we need to attack this pitcher a little bit better and get your mind right to go up there and have some good at-bats.”
On what she told Gabby Leach before her insurance RBI double in the sixth
“Just to slow herself down. I kind of can tell when she gets a little sped up. And just trust her eyes. I think she was just trying to maybe force some things and try to force something to happen instead of just trusting her awesome abilities and play with her eyes.”
On making a defensive adjustment to put Ella Dodge at first and Maddi Rutan at third, Rutan’s error
“Well, Maddi has been at third pretty much all year and has played great defense for us. So we had a lead, it was late innings, I wanted to get our probably the quickest fielders we had out there. And you know, Maddi, like I said, that’s her comfort zone, is third. She just rushed herself on that ball and charged a little bit too hard.”
On if Erin Nuwer not pitching in the SEC Tournament led to her starting vs. NKU, the confidence she has in her
“Every day I have confidence in Erin. And what gave me the confidence in Erin was what I saw when I recruited her, what I’ve seen since she’s been here. I mean, you just look at what she’s done for us this year and when you have a staff as deep as we do, I think, sometimes people can get overlooked a little bit, but they don’t inside of our circle. Like we all know that we’ve got three aces, and what a luxury it is for us that we can throw one of those three aces out there tonight, and you still have two aces that you know haven’t thrown a pitch yet. And I love the way Erin minimized her pitch count tonight, I mean, I think it was 84 pitches. We also knew that they’re a team that was going to put the ball in play, not a big power team. Erin is a phenomenal fielder, as you saw tonight. She had five assists. I mean, we’ll play our corners back and let Erin take the bunts, she’s that good. So I just trust Erin because she’s super competitive, and I know she’s going to go in there and attack and play for her team.”
On the benefit of responding to adversity early in the tournament
“For sure. And what I love is the bounce back, because it’s what do you do when you get in those adverse situations? Do you tighten up, do you crumble, or you just say alright and move on? And I love the way we moved on tonight.”
On Sophia Knight getting on base as the leadoff hitter
“Well, you kind of saw it tonight. She had a great bunt for a base hit. I love that she pulled the bunt out at that point in time, got the bases loaded for a really good hitter behind her. And Gabby, she hit a ball hard, hit a ball up the middle for a base hit. She pulled the ball that, man, I mean, a foot to the right at that first baseman, and that’s in right field, and we score right there. So she’s just so versatile in what she can do. She’s really calm. I think that’s what our team notices the most about her, is you get the same Sophia every day, and she’s just Steady Eddie.”
