Lori Blade Quotations

The pitching and defense have been very good all season. We thought at the beginning that we would have a good pitching staff and good defense and they've done very well so far.

She threw a great game. She moved the ball around very well and got her change up over for strikes a couple of times. She really looked comfortable out there. The girls behind her did a real nice job of talking and calming her down. There were a few times when she fell behind hitters, but she battled back and got the job done. You really can't ask for anything more than what she did today.

She's a strikeout pitcher and knows how to locate her pitches. She's not playing like a freshman right now, she's hitting her spots and moving the ball around.

She's been doing a great job. I can't say enough for her holding that post position down with everybody out. That's what we've needed her to do and that's what she's done.

She's capable of taking over on the glass like she did in the first half. She's getting more and more involved in the game, starting to understand the offense, she's getting in shape and gaining confidence.

She had a rough first inning. Hopefully that was just the first game jitters. She settled in after that and threw a real nice game. I was pleased with that and with our defense overall.

She got a ball to drive and she didn't miss it. Our offense comes in spurts, we did nothing for the first three innings and then exploded.

She almost caught that ball. But we're taught not to dive down the line, especially in that situation. But that's hard to do. When you're taught to always go-go, it's hard to see the ball and think you can make a play on it and not try it. She was just hustling and being aggressive.

She put a good swing on it and that's what happens when there's no fence out there. She hit the ball hard.

She hit the ball hard. With Sophie (Berman) out of the lineup today, we needed somebody to step up and Kelsey did that.

I was pleased with the kids effort tonight. We were good defensively all four quarters, which is what we need.

I thought our defensive intensity was very good, especially in the first half. I was really proud of our defensive effort tonight.

I think Eryn did a good job in the second half. We'll be just fine once we get used to the changes we have to make. Eryn is capable of running the point and will do a good job for us.

That didn't help. We were in the middle of a comeback and that foul sure didn't help things. But we got good shots after that, they just didn't go in.

That ball was really tagged. I was concerned then about Lauren keeping composure, but she bounced back just fine.

Like I said, you can't ask for anything more than that.

We had our chances and that's scary against a good team if you don't take advantage of those opportunities. You usually don't get very many.

We got on the board early in the second game, and I think that helped to relax Bethany. She got relaxed and settled in and the defense made some nice plays behind her.

We had a tough first half shooting and we had some good looks. They just wouldn't fall.

We were waiting to see what they were going to do, and this time they gave us the inside. We were just taking what they were giving us.

We had a couple of lapses today, but overall it was another pretty good day. The is the best start we've had since I've been here.

The only thing I could do was tell them that.

When you don't have a fence out there and the wind blowing, that's what happens. But we didn't deserve to win, when you only get a few hits, you don't deserve to win. We left too many runners on base to win this one.

We got some timely hitting. Everybody that got a hit later in the game did it with someone on base. We have to keep pushing with those runners in scoring position and the girls did that today.

We had so many opportunities and we just didn't break it open like we're capable of doing until the seventh.

Credit Tammy and those Alton kids. They played a great game and had a great game plan. We had some good shots and couldn't get them to go down tonight, but we didn't quit and Anya on the boards was huge.

Once we got it to six with just under a minute to go, I knew we were in business. I knew if we could just keep pushing we'd have a chance.

Defensively, we are staying in the game. We had the one bad game where they pulled two gap shots on us and got two runs.

You're going to have tough shooting nights. But we didn't quit and we got ourselves back in the game and had a chance.

This is so special for these kids because of everything they've gone through this season. They've stuck together and worked hard, and they've believed. I don't know how they did it, but they did.

They're good defensively but we took some poor shots. Our shot selection, especially in the second half, was very poor.

They're a very good basketball team. We didn't play our best game tonight and they did. So the credit goes to them.

There's always one (tough game) in there. (Bethalto) turned in a great effort. They have to be proud of their effort.

Everybody's carried Kara for a while, so it was time for her to carry us. There have been game's when she struggled with her shooting and her teammates picked her up. Tonight she picked all of us up.

Everybody's been saying how we got a break going north. Well, if that's a break, it's the first one we've had all year. But I don't necessarily think it's a break. We're going to have our hands full.

The bats have picked up. It seems like one hit gets them started and then they just keep it going.

Syd was great today. She moved the ball around, she changed speeds, she kept them off-balance and threw a great game.

Syd threw another great game. She was not sharp early on and they got a run, but she settled in after that and tossed a great game.

It was nice getting a run early. But I was still nervous with two outs in the top of the seventh, they can explode at any time.

The kids stuck to it and didn't quit on me. That's the most important part.

I'm so proud of the kids for their effort. They didn't quit. I told them that the game wasn't over, that we just had to go out and do it. And somehow they did.

I have to be concerned about that. We have to take better care of the ball.

Civic Memorial is a good team. And if we can get past that one, then Taylorville and Alton are no slouches, either. Like I said, we're going to have our hands full. All of those teams are capable of beating anybody on any night.

I don't know if you get a break anywhere. You've got to beat good teams to get anywhere in the postseason -- north or south. I know everyone thinks we got a break but postseason is postseason. If you don't play well you're not going to win a regional anyway.

Their non-scoring girls stepped up and scored tonight. And they hit 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch and that's hard to come back on.

These kids have been through a lot between the injuries and the disciplinary actions. But they've stuck together. I expect them to make a good run in the postseason.

This is a good start for us. We've worked really hard on hitting. We've got to be able to score some runs to help our pitchers out. We did that today.

The girls didn't quit, and that's the key. I'm proud of them for keeping their composure the last four minutes. This is the postseason. Teams are going to come in and give us everything they have, and we have to respond to it. And for the most part tonight, we did that.