Starters Quotations | Page 5

Any time you have your returning starters back, you like to think that is a positive. You like to be able to rely on their experience to help lead this ball club. All of our starting infielders were in double-digits in errors and I would like to think we are going to become much more stable defensively.

Any time you play Winona, it's a great thing for you because you're going to be tested. They're better than us athletically at every position. You could put all five of Winona's starters on the first-team (all-NSIC) and you couldn't really argue it. They're that good.

That's been the biggest difference for us from last year to this year. Last year we only had eight players. This year we've got the depth.... We just keep rotating people in and it allows our starters to stay fresh.

That's a team we beat here at home, but the thing you have to understand about that game is their leading scorer was out and one of their other starters was out. So, we know going down there that will be a completely different game.

That's definitely encouraging that we've got all five starters and so many other players coming back. Everybody will be more experienced, more focused, and we all went through this together, so we know we won't go through this again.

Their players are used to playing all those minutes every night and mine aren't. When it mattered, Utah executed and their three senior starters did a great job.

Their confidence factor is at a high level because they've won so many games as of late. They beat South Alabama and knocked both Arkansas teams out of byes. Not to mention they've got seven players and three starters back from an NCAA Tournament team.

Their five starters averaged about 70 points a game. We averaged around 50, so we didn't want to get in a running game with them.

I'm not sure if it was the drive or just the fact that we had beaten them handily both times we played but I thought the girls came out real flat. I wasn't real happy with the way our starters played.

I'm extremely proud of this team. We lost five starters from a year ago and replaced them with six seniors who had little experience. They fought hard and played with a lot of heart. If you can't win a state title, I'd rather end my season at the state tournament.

I'm extremely proud of this group. With 4 of our 5 starters returning next season we feel very good about the next couple of seasons.

I'm ready to be good again. I'm ready to throw a lot of innings. That's what starters have to do.

I keep reading about all the guys they have coming back, ... We have 10 starters coming back on offense, eight on defense.

In a way, all the starters are kind of competing against each other.

I have two seniors who are returning starters and I expect a lot from both of them.

I just wasn't looking to our starters to do it all. I just wanted to win.

I'm really looking for a couple of the other pitchers to step up. You want to have at least three solid starters that can take you deep into a game.

I'm kind of limited in what I can do. I only kept seven girls on varsity, so I'm always going to have some starters in the game. We don't have a lot of flexibility with our schedule, so we're going to have some games where there's going to be a mismatch.

I had nothing going for me. My fastball was flat. I couldn't locate and was leaving the ball in the white (over the plate). I've got to be more consistent. All our starters need to be more consistent.

I had three starters on my bench for half of the first quarter and all of the second. But the bench played tough in the second quarter.

I'm blessed to have a team where there is little or no separation between the starters and the bench players. That makes for good competition within our team, because our starters know if they don't perform at a certain level they will lose their jobs.

If you've got five starters that you perceive to be terrific starters, then go get a sixth because that depth is going to come up; there is no doubt about it. From our perspective we feel very strongly about being a perennial contender and that means the strong guy on the mound and the relievers behind him.

In the first half, they subbed quite a bit and we stuck with our starters for the most part. I think we got a bit tired in the second half.

I like to game plan against a defense, not a person. I look at a backup just like I do a starter. We're going to take the same amount of shots we would if their starters were in there.

I really thought our match was like the championship because I believe we would have beaten Memphis. Our season could have been a lot better. I lost five starters from last year, two of them to injury. Not having Danny Caldwell (who broke his hand in the league meet) really hurt us last night. It's kind of discouraging.

I really think they are the best team in the tournament. I know Mascoutah beat them last night, but their five starters are good. I told our team they are a better team. If we play good and they play good, they're going to beat us. We needed them to be off a little bit and they weren't.

I played my seniors a little more than I usually would in a game like this. It was senior night, so I left all my starters in until halftime.

In a 32-minute high school game, I'll usually give them 28 minutes. That's the middle of the fourth quarter. If the other coach waives the white flag and pulls his starters at the beginning of the third quarter, I'll do the same.

In '98 we were in the same situation. We had already gotten the bye, we were the No. 1 seed and all the starters played the whole last game. So, I'm sure that's going to happen again.

I had five senior starters who played together for four years and they worked so hard to get here. It's going to be hard to say good-bye.

I think all of us playing together is the key. I don't think us three in particular is going to determine the whole thing. It depends on all five starters we have, and the whole team working together. Teamwork is the most important thing.

I just didn't think we could match up with their depth and athleticism. We're missing two starters from our lineup. We only played six kids, really, for most of the game. They played 11.

His face completely changes from the time he gets to the ballpark. The other four days, he's easy-going, likes to joke around, but on the fifth day, like a lot of the big-time starters I've had in the past, it's all business.

Before the game we talked about just getting a total team effort tonight. From everybody - from both units, our starters and our second unit. I thought we really got that tonight. We didn't come out sluggish like we did last night.

Before the game we talked about a total team effort -- getting something from both the starters and reserves -- and I thought we really got that tonight. We had 41 field goals and 24 assists, which is a great percentage and when you're shooting 58 percent, it helps a great deal.

I'm like a slow starter. Everything I've done has built, or has taken a while.

I don't know if we're running out of gas. I can't explain it, ... It's just one of those things where we're kind of in a rut right now. Our starters had a rough couple weeks, and I feel like our starters are really starting to come back and pitch well again. The hitters are having a little rough week now, too.

I don't know how good we will end up overall this season, but I've been nothing less than enthused with the progress from where we came from, ... Last year, we were very weak, had only a couple of starters and fought our way to a 4-6 season. We've come a country mile since then.

I didn't know what would happen. I knew the starters weren't going to play much, so I figured I would play a lot. I thought anything could happen when we got down near the goal line, maybe throw one up, and we did. I was happy everything worked out.

I didn't say anything, really. We just settled down. We had two new starters out there. I told them to settle down, keep battling, and things will go our way.

Honestly, we went through this at the end last year with the San Francisco game (and the starters played most of the game). Were treating this like a regular week ... I don't think anybody else really knows any other way to do it around here?. I don't think the players do. I don't think the coaches do. It's football season. Maybe I'll see it differently next week. I don't know.

I definitely think some of our frustration with the overtime ones that we've lost ... we really took it out Virginia today. Everybody played well, from the starters to the guys coming off the bench. It was a great night.

I challenged our starters to set the tempo early. I thought our starters one through five stepped up and played well tonight.

I'm not looking for starters, I'm looking for finishers.

You can't take any team lightly in the playoffs. That was a heck of a game last year, and we were just fortunate to come out with a win -- and they have four of their five starters back.

You can number your starters one through five if you want. But every guy that goes out there has got to pitch like a No. 1 guy. If you don't, then you're in trouble.

The key was we got to get some pitchers some work because the majority of innings have come from our two starters (Matt Stewart and Trey Johnson), because they've been pitching so well.

All four starters return to the back position. We are confident in the experience that will be represented there.

All five starters made all- district and all-city, and four of them made one or another all-state team. They were just a very unusual group of kids. They did exactly what Bob wanted and they played so well together and just hated to lose. They were the epitome of the word team.

All five starters can put the ball in the hoop. But we know that our shooting from the outside will have to click for us to win games.

All five starters are excellent ball-handlers. They know how to get into the lane and the others all know to get to a spot for a pass.

All five of our starters have been aces throughout the course of the season. I don't know how many teams can say that. Garland, we just hopped on his back tonight and just rode him.

Alabama is really good. They have quality pitching, and have couple of guys in the bullpen, and their hitting has really, really picked up since the beginning of the year. Coach Wells and his guys have just gotten better and better since Day 1. They may have the best starters in the league.

The girls on the bench work just as hard as the starters do.

The goal tonight was to keep our rhythm, keep going and keep fighting. But we definitely wanted some of our key starters to play less minutes.

The dual against Libby turned out about how we expected it would -- it wasn't very pretty. We had four starters out because we didn't want them to aggravate nagging injuries. I felt like I needed a M.A.S.H. unit to take care of everyone.

The game I was most impressed with was the York game. All 11 starters and three or four of the reserves all played great. We certainly would have liked to win the game, but I was pleased with the effort and happy to get a tie.

The difference between the two games for us was that the first game was early in the season and we had two new starters and a lot of inexperienced players off the bench. By the time we played them the second time we had established our roles and everyone knew what was expected of them.

All of the starters are feeding off each other. You feel good about what's going on here. We're just riding it out.

All of our starters are capable of taking over a game at any time. Each quarter it seemed like someone new stepped up and carried the team for awhile.

The last time we played, all five of their starters scored in double figures. That was the only time they did that all year.