Postgame Quotes – UCLA 9, Grand Canyon 0 (5 inn.)
UCLA 9, Grand Canyon 0
May 17, 2024
Easton Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
NCAA Los Angeles Regional
The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez
opening statement
“First, always, every team that gets to this point in the season deserves recognition, so we respect every opponent that we play and GCU is a solid program. It was a great opportunity to compete against them tonight. But tonight is a night that I am really proud of our offense. I credit the coaches, I credit the players, their ability to prepare, their ability to adjust, their ability to come through in big critical moments. We want to be our best right now, and I’m feeling pretty good about the way we’re swinging our stick. It’s not just anyone, it’s the entire team, and hitting is contagious and this team did a great job. But that kind of overshadows the freshman KT, what she did in the circle. To be able to throw a shutout in game one of her first post-season game is exciting for things to come.”
on their recent success and changes from the beginning of the season
”It’s just mindset, a belief. I think we were thrown back in the start of the season, we just wanted our best. It was tough to believe at that point that we could be this team that we are today, but just strong faith, strong belief in this program, in each other, in the coaching staff. We never gave up. I talked to them earlier about Bruin armor and there were times where we had some punches thrown at us, and we got hit pretty badly, and it was tough to stop the bleeding. But as a result, a very challenging season, they’ve done a great job of really growing that Bruin armor. We’re tougher, we’re stronger. It’s been a challenge, it’s been a journey, they’ve trusted the process, and they’re pretty battle-tested. Nothing surprises us, there’s nothing that’s too hard. I say mindset, that we continued to fight, that we continued to say ‘it is what it is’ and what we do next is going to be more important than what just happened.”
on Kaitlyn Terry’s pitching performance
“The best thing about KT is that the game doesn’t know how old you are. She owns things; there was a ball that I think rolled off the wall and she said ‘That was so fat’. She’s playing it loose, and then she can lock in. She makes a mistake, a hitter gets a hit, and she can walk back in and settle in. That’s a sign of what great pitchers do. We have a stat, called the Lisa Fernandez stat, and it’s that anyone can get a hit. We know that. In any program, long balls are part of the game in this day and age. It’s not the hit, what happens, but what you do next. She settled in. Obviously, I’m calling games for her using the off-speed. I could have used the off-speed a little sooner in that inning because they were battling, they were swinging their sticks. Part of it is game-calling, and part of it is her settling in, but her maturity is so impressive. She’s very loose. That’s something that you need to have; confident, very loose, and accountable. She’s got to get better in certain situations and that’s what all great pitchers do to stop the bleeding.”
on finding a team identity
“Difficult? No. That’s what the season is for. You graduate people and you bring in new people. Every year is a new dynamic. I don’t even want to think about the fact that every year there are seniors that rip my heart out, to think that they’re not going to be in the program. But then that creates opportunities for different Bruins to be able to step up. In our program, it’s more than just softball. We talk about the Bruin family and leadership, everybody has a responsibility to learn and grow and goals are passed on. Maya being the true Bruin, meaning that she’s been here for five years, she said it perfectly. It’s easy when it’s easy, it’s easy just to play ball. It’s tough to lead, especially when you’re being challenged, but that’s what I love about this job. The leadership keeps us together and the tradition stays alive. No, it’s not difficult, it’s part of the process, and every year, there’s a different identity because there are different people, there’s different leadership. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
on Janelle Meoño’s defense
“Janelle and Jadelyn Allchin out in left field, that’s when you can really appreciate the game. When you have true outfielders that have great reads on the ball, they have great arms. Janelle, we haven’t had her for four years, but man, she goes down as one of the best outfielders we’ve seen. Her reads on the ball, her throw is money, it’s scary. With that being said, Jadelyn Allchin has done some phenomenal things too. Those are some things that Kelli Goodin last year was making plays that could throw anyone off. The speed factor, the athleticism, the IQ can really stop some rallies. That was a big play. We saw Janelle and Jadelyn do some really special things out there, and that builds confidence for the pitching staff, that some of those things don’t get out of hand.”
on getting the first post-season win under their belt
“The first game of the post-season is the biggest because of the buildup, us being able to come out and come play our game. We’ve been talking about this for a long time. We’ve been talking about keeping our eyes on the prize. I told them that even the regular season was just an opportunity to learn about who we are. Continue to go one at a time, and they won the regular season. In the Pac-12 tournament, we just had to keep our eyes on the prize, and in the end, they won the Pac-12 tournament. So here we are, happy to be at our best. Like I say, the first game is always the big one. In the history of our program, as long as I’ve been here, every year, game one is always the big one. I’m super proud of how they came out, and they had fun today. They had fun. There have been some really tight games and really unfortunate games in game one, so today is the biggest game of our season.
UCLA shortstop Maya Brady
on making mindset adjustments throughout the season
“I feel like for me, this is my fourth year here at UCLA, and I’ve been super lucky to be surrounded by some of the greatest players in the game. I’ve been very fortunate to kind of take the little sister role, and just kind of ball out and do whatever without really worrying about leadership. This year has truly been an adjustment, we graduated players that have been here for six or seven years. I think that just trying to keep the tradition of being a Bruin alive, and our standards and what we expect here, and trying to communicate that to a brand new team. I feel like that can be super challenging, so just bringing in what Coach I said about belief, that we’ve been able to run off of for my five years. I feel like that aspect of passing these traditions down has been more difficult, and losing is never fun, and being a leader when you’re losing is really hard. Especially when, for me, I was lucky enough to be with the Rachel Garcia’s and the Bri Perez’s and the Aaliyah Jordan’s. I felt like I could kind of hang on their coattails and just try to hit, and play center, and whatever. But I think this year more than ever the leadership aspect has been super important. We’ve had hard conversations and really tried to grow as a team. I think that’s been pretty difficult, especially in the beginning when we didn’t really know who we were, and we were dropping games that we should not have dropped. I would say probably that.”
on the importance of defense at this point of the year
“Something that we knew going into this year was the aspects of our pitching staff, and just how young they are. KT being a freshman, and [Taylor Tinsley] not having as much experience as another sophomore. Her and KT have almost the same amount of game experience. I think the defense really needed to step up this year. I think that’s something that everyone says; defense wins championships. I think for us, we just need to loosen. Every inning we go out there, we say ‘for KT’, ‘for Tins’, for every single player we really dedicate just going out there and doing our job for them. I think, kind of like what Coach I and Shar have been saying, we’re just trying to play loose. I think when we play loose, it allows our body to react and do crazy things. Just having our confidence and having our pitchers’ back at the end of the day, and just trying to make plays.”
UCLA catcher Sharlize Palacios
on Kaitlyn Terry having strikeouts on the outside corner
“I think KT is really locked in, and she’s just going through her process. Those outside pitches were dotted, she was doing a really good job. I don’t think that she could have moved it anywhere else, and that was a perfect pitch. She’s just really locked in like Coach I said. I think we need to give her more praise, the way she pitched today.”
on hitting seven home runs in the past twelve games
“I’m just trying to stay loose. I like hitting to the outside part of the field. It’s just staying loose and staying bought in.”
on making mindset adjustments throughout the season
“I think Maya hit it right on the head. She’s said that leadership had to step up, and it’s just that belief. I think we all believe in that Bruin magic and in each other. Each Bruin is using that and exuding that type of confidence.”
May 17, 2024
Easton Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
NCAA Los Angeles Regional
The Shelly Carlin UCLA Head Softball Coach Kelly Inouye-Perez
opening statement
“First, always, every team that gets to this point in the season deserves recognition, so we respect every opponent that we play and GCU is a solid program. It was a great opportunity to compete against them tonight. But tonight is a night that I am really proud of our offense. I credit the coaches, I credit the players, their ability to prepare, their ability to adjust, their ability to come through in big critical moments. We want to be our best right now, and I’m feeling pretty good about the way we’re swinging our stick. It’s not just anyone, it’s the entire team, and hitting is contagious and this team did a great job. But that kind of overshadows the freshman KT, what she did in the circle. To be able to throw a shutout in game one of her first post-season game is exciting for things to come.”
on their recent success and changes from the beginning of the season
”It’s just mindset, a belief. I think we were thrown back in the start of the season, we just wanted our best. It was tough to believe at that point that we could be this team that we are today, but just strong faith, strong belief in this program, in each other, in the coaching staff. We never gave up. I talked to them earlier about Bruin armor and there were times where we had some punches thrown at us, and we got hit pretty badly, and it was tough to stop the bleeding. But as a result, a very challenging season, they’ve done a great job of really growing that Bruin armor. We’re tougher, we’re stronger. It’s been a challenge, it’s been a journey, they’ve trusted the process, and they’re pretty battle-tested. Nothing surprises us, there’s nothing that’s too hard. I say mindset, that we continued to fight, that we continued to say ‘it is what it is’ and what we do next is going to be more important than what just happened.”
on Kaitlyn Terry’s pitching performance
“The best thing about KT is that the game doesn’t know how old you are. She owns things; there was a ball that I think rolled off the wall and she said ‘That was so fat’. She’s playing it loose, and then she can lock in. She makes a mistake, a hitter gets a hit, and she can walk back in and settle in. That’s a sign of what great pitchers do. We have a stat, called the Lisa Fernandez stat, and it’s that anyone can get a hit. We know that. In any program, long balls are part of the game in this day and age. It’s not the hit, what happens, but what you do next. She settled in. Obviously, I’m calling games for her using the off-speed. I could have used the off-speed a little sooner in that inning because they were battling, they were swinging their sticks. Part of it is game-calling, and part of it is her settling in, but her maturity is so impressive. She’s very loose. That’s something that you need to have; confident, very loose, and accountable. She’s got to get better in certain situations and that’s what all great pitchers do to stop the bleeding.”
on finding a team identity
“Difficult? No. That’s what the season is for. You graduate people and you bring in new people. Every year is a new dynamic. I don’t even want to think about the fact that every year there are seniors that rip my heart out, to think that they’re not going to be in the program. But then that creates opportunities for different Bruins to be able to step up. In our program, it’s more than just softball. We talk about the Bruin family and leadership, everybody has a responsibility to learn and grow and goals are passed on. Maya being the true Bruin, meaning that she’s been here for five years, she said it perfectly. It’s easy when it’s easy, it’s easy just to play ball. It’s tough to lead, especially when you’re being challenged, but that’s what I love about this job. The leadership keeps us together and the tradition stays alive. No, it’s not difficult, it’s part of the process, and every year, there’s a different identity because there are different people, there’s different leadership. That’s what I’m most proud of.”
on Janelle Meoño’s defense
“Janelle and Jadelyn Allchin out in left field, that’s when you can really appreciate the game. When you have true outfielders that have great reads on the ball, they have great arms. Janelle, we haven’t had her for four years, but man, she goes down as one of the best outfielders we’ve seen. Her reads on the ball, her throw is money, it’s scary. With that being said, Jadelyn Allchin has done some phenomenal things too. Those are some things that Kelli Goodin last year was making plays that could throw anyone off. The speed factor, the athleticism, the IQ can really stop some rallies. That was a big play. We saw Janelle and Jadelyn do some really special things out there, and that builds confidence for the pitching staff, that some of those things don’t get out of hand.”
on getting the first post-season win under their belt
“The first game of the post-season is the biggest because of the buildup, us being able to come out and come play our game. We’ve been talking about this for a long time. We’ve been talking about keeping our eyes on the prize. I told them that even the regular season was just an opportunity to learn about who we are. Continue to go one at a time, and they won the regular season. In the Pac-12 tournament, we just had to keep our eyes on the prize, and in the end, they won the Pac-12 tournament. So here we are, happy to be at our best. Like I say, the first game is always the big one. In the history of our program, as long as I’ve been here, every year, game one is always the big one. I’m super proud of how they came out, and they had fun today. They had fun. There have been some really tight games and really unfortunate games in game one, so today is the biggest game of our season.
UCLA shortstop Maya Brady
on making mindset adjustments throughout the season
“I feel like for me, this is my fourth year here at UCLA, and I’ve been super lucky to be surrounded by some of the greatest players in the game. I’ve been very fortunate to kind of take the little sister role, and just kind of ball out and do whatever without really worrying about leadership. This year has truly been an adjustment, we graduated players that have been here for six or seven years. I think that just trying to keep the tradition of being a Bruin alive, and our standards and what we expect here, and trying to communicate that to a brand new team. I feel like that can be super challenging, so just bringing in what Coach I said about belief, that we’ve been able to run off of for my five years. I feel like that aspect of passing these traditions down has been more difficult, and losing is never fun, and being a leader when you’re losing is really hard. Especially when, for me, I was lucky enough to be with the Rachel Garcia’s and the Bri Perez’s and the Aaliyah Jordan’s. I felt like I could kind of hang on their coattails and just try to hit, and play center, and whatever. But I think this year more than ever the leadership aspect has been super important. We’ve had hard conversations and really tried to grow as a team. I think that’s been pretty difficult, especially in the beginning when we didn’t really know who we were, and we were dropping games that we should not have dropped. I would say probably that.”
on the importance of defense at this point of the year
“Something that we knew going into this year was the aspects of our pitching staff, and just how young they are. KT being a freshman, and [Taylor Tinsley] not having as much experience as another sophomore. Her and KT have almost the same amount of game experience. I think the defense really needed to step up this year. I think that’s something that everyone says; defense wins championships. I think for us, we just need to loosen. Every inning we go out there, we say ‘for KT’, ‘for Tins’, for every single player we really dedicate just going out there and doing our job for them. I think, kind of like what Coach I and Shar have been saying, we’re just trying to play loose. I think when we play loose, it allows our body to react and do crazy things. Just having our confidence and having our pitchers’ back at the end of the day, and just trying to make plays.”
UCLA catcher Sharlize Palacios
on Kaitlyn Terry having strikeouts on the outside corner
“I think KT is really locked in, and she’s just going through her process. Those outside pitches were dotted, she was doing a really good job. I don’t think that she could have moved it anywhere else, and that was a perfect pitch. She’s just really locked in like Coach I said. I think we need to give her more praise, the way she pitched today.”
on hitting seven home runs in the past twelve games
“I’m just trying to stay loose. I like hitting to the outside part of the field. It’s just staying loose and staying bought in.”
on making mindset adjustments throughout the season
“I think Maya hit it right on the head. She’s said that leadership had to step up, and it’s just that belief. I think we all believe in that Bruin magic and in each other. Each Bruin is using that and exuding that type of confidence.”