Lori Blade Quotes (28 Quotes)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

We knew it wasn't going to be easy. That team (Alton) scares me to death. They're so athletic and can do so much, and you never know what you're going to get. They did what they had to do, but I think our experience kind of carried us.

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.

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

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

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.