Stuedeman Talks Season Thus Far, Spring Break Trip
March 09, 2016 | Softball
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State head softball coach Vann Stuedeman met with the media on Wednesday to talk about her team's 17-3 start and what is to come for the Bulldogs heading into the weekend.
State will head west for a five-game stay in the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Long Beach, California (March 11-13). The action will begin Friday, March 11 with a doubleheader against UC Santa Barbara (1:30 p.m. CT) and No. 14 UCLA (6:30 p.m. CT).
Opening statement…
“I am really pleased with our defense. It is playing very well. Our outfield has to be one of the best around. Kayla Winkfield is incredible at shortstop. Pitching is holding steady and keeping us in a lot of games. We are working on getting some timely hitting right now. Our speed is helping us out where we lack in power.”
On the pitching game in the absence of Alexis Silkwood, who is returning from injury...
“It is like (the football team) playing 20 games without Dak Prescott. She is our workhorse and was last year. When we get her back full strength, it will feel like a shot in the arm and will only be exciting. She has thrown four innings for us and did well. She is responding well to live pitching, so it is exciting to get her back. Without her, I am pleased with what the other five pitchers have been able to do. They have all been in some sticky situations as well as some dominant ones. I think it only benefits our team in the long run to have this experience without Silkwood up to this point.”
On clutch hitting…
“A lot of it has to do with the pressure and their expectations of themselves. One of my big philosophies is to keep it loose. I put a lot of pressure on them in practice, but in the games I want them to go out and have fun. Then, they do not get a lot of pressure from me, but sometimes they put the pressure on themselves. We are a good offensive club, it just has not stuck together yet. This is a marathon and we want them to be hitting when it matters most. They are slowly coming through. I am not worried about it, though. We are just trying to keep working hard and good things are going to happen. We have to keep battling and swinging.”
On the strong non-conference schedule…
“We planned a schedule like this on purpose to try to get a better seed in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, you need to win them. Our three losses are not going to hurt us in the long run. The teams we have played will help us. It helps us going to conference play. The schedule that we have played up to this point has challenged us. I believe it will benefit us in league play. The schedule ahead is only going to set us up for success.”
On the trip to California…
“It is a homecoming for Loryn Nichols and Sarai Niu. Loryn was a part of the first class I signed here. That was the main goal of going to California. However, we did want to play in a quality tournament and we are (with UCLA, Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara in the field). It is comparable to other games in our schedule. It will be different because it will be the first far road trip. There will be different experiences. They play softball a little differently on the West Coast.”
On how the players are anticipating the road trip…
“I think they are excited. This is a short week that has been packed in with them trying to get their school work done. They are just trying to get to that point when we leave where they can take a breather. There are a lot of things that they have to do beyond softball.”
On what she has been most impressed with about her team…
“Our defense. Our outfield play. Kayla Winkfield makes plays that a lot of shortstops cannot. Our outfield play is incredible all the way around. We have had multiple top-10 catches in the outfield. We are also doing a good job in base-running and being aggressive.”
