Speaker 1: You've done this as a player. What we were emotions
Speaker 1: like after all these near misses the last couple of years.
Speaker 1: When that third strike that Peyton got for the final
Speaker 1: lot on Saturday, I imagine there must have been relief, joy,
Speaker 1: A lot of emotions were going through your head.
Speaker 2: Honestly, I'm not sure it's completely hit me yet. There's
Speaker 2: been a couple of times that I've been on the Verrgetiers,
Speaker 2: a couple of times that I'm just my smile is
Speaker 2: ear to ear and it's a time that I think
Speaker 2: about my family. I think about the two kids, Rosie
Speaker 2: and Lexi, who have been a huge part of changing
Speaker 2: the culture of this program and bring in the trophy back.
Speaker 2: I mean, they said it from the start and we've
Speaker 2: been through some trials. That's part of growing champions and
Speaker 2: they're at the.
Speaker 1: Core of that.
Speaker 2: So watching them celebrate on that field was really really
Speaker 2: special for me.
Speaker 1: After losing the Saint John's series, it appears you did
Speaker 1: not have any let down whatsoever. Yeah, you had a
Speaker 1: tight game with quick providence for that first game with
Speaker 1: postseason can always be a bit nerve wracking, but after
Speaker 1: that it just seemed like business as usual.
Speaker 2: I think that the Saint John's series really, if anything,
Speaker 2: brought our team even closer than what it was, because
Speaker 2: I can tell you that I didn't have to say
Speaker 2: much after that series. They were talking more to each
Speaker 2: other about that's not going to happen this week. It's
Speaker 2: not happening. So it really came from them. And that's
Speaker 2: when you know as a coach that there's something special
Speaker 2: going on in the locker room when you have from
Speaker 2: the top down saying we're going into the tournament with fire,
Speaker 2: and it's pretty rare that we get beat twice by somebody,
Speaker 2: So we're going to go in with some edge and
Speaker 2: we're going to learn from that and go after them.
Speaker 1: Now that you have been in the NCAA tournament as
Speaker 1: a player, what advice do you give these young ladies
Speaker 1: going through it for the first time.
Speaker 2: It really is another softball game where the bases are's
Speaker 2: sixty feet in the mounds forty three feet away. I mean,
Speaker 2: you watch how these kids competed against Tennessee earlier this season.
Speaker 2: I mean, it's it's the way we schedule.
Speaker 1: They're prepared. They're going to be prepared.
Speaker 2: So we go out, We're going to set the tone
Speaker 2: We're going to try to swing the momentum. We're going
Speaker 2: to create chaos on offense. We're going to play ukon softball.
Speaker 2: That's going to be the message. Go out there and
Speaker 2: play our game, and I think we're really tough when
Speaker 2: we play our best.
Speaker 1: Have you gotten any text from mister Penders?
Speaker 2: Of course, of course I had.
Speaker 1: I mean, you guys, are I hear you guys? I mean,
Speaker 1: I know you guys are pretty tight.
Speaker 2: Yes, we are. I cannot say enough great things about him.
Speaker 2: How it's such a privilege to be able to work
Speaker 2: down the hall from a class act like Jim, and
Speaker 2: he's the guy that I mean, when I can't get
Speaker 2: a hold of Gino, which is pretty rare, I'm able
Speaker 2: to pick up the phone and call Jim.
Speaker 1: You could do water.
Speaker 2: Yeah, right, Yeah, it's It's really incredible, just the two
Speaker 2: mentors that I have in my corner, and I'm psyched
Speaker 2: for them as well. I mean, they know how to win.
Speaker 2: I know it's been a little rocky start for them,
Speaker 2: but I'm in his corner and I'm his biggest fan,
Speaker 2: and they're gonna crush it down the stretch.
Speaker 1: Tuesday Night's gonna be fun here, Yeah, it is finally.
Speaker 1: Grace talked about this on a podcast. The pressure win
Speaker 1: here with the success here, the success at Gamble, the
Speaker 1: success with track and field and football now and baseball
Speaker 1: to win here, do you feel it?
Speaker 2: I embrace it. Yeah, that's why I'm here. I mean,
Speaker 2: what a place like Yukon when people talk about other
Speaker 2: places in the country and how great it is, I'd
Speaker 2: put this place up against anybody. I mean, what place
Speaker 2: has competitive excellence across the board, from baseball to basketballs
Speaker 2: to I was texting with the women's soccer coach Mags today, yep,
Speaker 2: and you know her sign went up this year in
Speaker 2: our suite for Big East champ Cinnari signs going up
Speaker 2: right across the way. So it just pushes me to
Speaker 2: drive harder, and it elevates our players, it elevates our staff,
Speaker 2: and we're excited to bring championships back for softball. We're
Speaker 2: going to keep it coming.