bleedCrimson.net will be conducting weekly interviews with Aggie women's softball head coach Kathy Rodolph throughout the 2008 season as the Aggies take aim at the WAC title. In this week's interview Coach Rodolph talks about this past weekend's series against Louisiana Tech, the exhibition game against the U.S. National Team and talks about the upcoming series against Utah State in Logan, UT.
bleedCrimson.net: Talk a little bit about the Louisiana Tech series this past weekend.
Kathy Rodolph: Louisiana Tech came in here and played real well and we struggled all weekend long in the circle and then we struggled offensively to get those clutch hits. What comes first is was it the struggling in the circle that created that or a combination of both? We honestly didn't play very well.
bc.net: Talk a little bit about the experience of playing the U.S. National Team and what you felt like your team did well.
KR: What we were hoping was to give the National team the very best game that we could provide them to hopefully help them in their preparation for Beijing. I felt like it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for my kids to come out and play in front of 2000 people. What an exciting day and what an honor to play the National Team. I felt like our kids were excited, nervous, a combination of everything and I was really excited that Sammie and Kristen Marris were able to come in and keep the National Team at bay. What awesome players, what a terrific group of talent.
bc.net: Can you talk a little bit about the performance that Kristen had? I believe she pitched a couple of innings and didn't give up any runs.
KR: Kristen is coming on of late and starting to get a little bit of confidence and starting to work her way back into some playing time. It couldn't happen at a better time with Kim being out due to a lat pull and now she's back but out of sync and trying to get back into a rhythm. Sammie's struggled a little bit with some sore back muscles and Vanessa Fitzgerald is really struggling with a sore forearm. We couldn't be more beat up in the circle. So for Kristen to be able to come on, the team really needs that.
bc.net: Can you talk a little bit about Stacy Lien being able to get a hit off of Monica Abbott and what that experience and what that can do for her confidence?
KR: Stacy Lien, we went to Stacy about a week and a half ago and asked her to really focus on her leadership in anchoring the middle of the lineup to give the courage to the other RBI hitters that it could be done. I feel like Stacy has really taken that challenge on and risen to the occasion and has absolutely become a force to reckon with in the middle of the lineup. I couldn't have been more proud of her getting that hit against Monica Abbott because her approach at the plate has been tremendous lately.
bc.net: Can you talk a little bit about the defense that you played in that game. You only had one error and played solid on the defensive end.
KR: I think our team takes an awful lot of pride in playing defense. We're starting five freshmen so that in itself is a recipe for some ups and downs. What I'm liking as we're coming into the latter part of the season is we're starting to become more solid as a team with more talk and communication and we're ranked 8th in the nation for double plays [turned] and that's quite an accomplishment. They play defense with a real sense of pride.
bc.net: A lot of times you hear coaches and players talk about the speed of the game and with all of the teams that you've played that are in the Top 25 and just outside of the Top 25 and then playing against the National Team, how does that help with you with slowing down the speed of the game as you get into the latter part of the conference season?
KR: I feel like it's been able to keep us steady and we're still working on growing with the pressure of the game as we approach the fifth, sixth and seventh innings because as you get closer to winning or losing a ballgame and that pressure starts to become real, we're really working hard to stay within ourselves and play the game and what the game brings us instead of worry about outcomes or what might happen if I don't come through. So we're really working on our mental approach. I feel like by playing those Top 25 teams and maybe not getting the 'W' that we wanted, I believe we've lost 17 games by three runs or less, it's been a very difficult outing this year but I believe in the long run as we reach the conference tournament at the end of the season that's really going to pay off.
bc.net: Can you talk a little bit about the game against UNM last night [Tuesday], your team was leading 4-3 and then UNM scored four runs in the top of the fifth but your team battled back and put themselves in a position to win.
KR: Absolutely, everybody knows with Kim being out and injured and then now she's getting healthy but out of sync, it's going to require some innings to get her rhythm back and we all know we're going to have to chip in and give a little extra while that's happening. I feel like the team is very team oriented and they knew that when Kim struggled a little bit that they were going to have to pick it up and I felt like they did. We had an opportunity in the bottom of the seventh but just came up a little short.
bc.net: Talk a little bit about the series you have coming up against Utah State this weekend.
KR: Utah State is going to be very aggressive so playing UNM and UNM being aggressive last night is going to be good for us because we know what to expect going into the weekend. I feel like if we can hold our own in the circle, we're in a good place mentally to be able to come out on top this weekend.
bc.net: With the game in Logan, and the baseball team was in Reno this past weekend and Coach Ward said that they played in some pretty miserable conditions, how much of an effect is the weather going to have?
KR: It's absolutely going to have an affect. When you have nagging aches and pains just due to the wear and tear of the season and then when you're in weather that's 75 to 80 degrees, it's a lot easier to loosen up and to be able to play full speed than it's going to be with a high in the 50s. But I also feel like determination and will is going to have to kick in and counteract that.
