Messiah Post-Game Quotes

Messiah head coach Amy Weaver on the victory: “We went into the game knowing that Ohio Northern is a very good hitting team. We also knew that we could hit as well, so we went in pretty confident. It was a tight 1-1 battle for a while, and then Jaclyn [Merkel] hit a nice home run and put us head. We felt confident going into the seventh inning. [Ohio Northern] made it a little interesting, but we pulled it out.”

Weaver on Messiah’s 20-game winning streak and whether the team tries to maintain its same routine: “The team actually has quite a few rituals. We talk about the same things all season any way, and we constantly talk about the way we approach the game and taking things one game at a time.”

Freshman left fielder Jaclyn Merkel on the team’s attitude entering National Championship play: “We were pretty loose. We were ready to play. We know that we’re here [at the National Championship], but we have to make our way to the National Championship Game. These are just the games that get us toward that goal.”

Freshman right handed pitcher Jessica Rhoads on winning the Mahwah Regional and the Falcons first game in the National Championship in the State of New Jersey: “We’re kind of liking New Jersey right now.”

Rhoads on bearing down after facing a potential big Ohio Northern scoring threat in the fifth inning: “When runners get on base, I personally get a spark in me and take it as a challenge [to make sure they don’t score].

Merkel on whether she fully connected on her sixth-inning home run: “I felt like I got all of the ball. Once I hit it, I knew it was gone, but I just dropped the bat and ran. I was hoping that it would go over [the fence], and luckily it did.”

Weaver on facing an unknown opponent such as Ohio Northern: “It’s the same approach that we’ve taken all year in that we focus on what we can do. We obviously looked at their stats and tried to find out as much as we could about them, but we tried to focus on what we do well. We prepared the same way for this game as we have all season.”

Ohio Northern Head Coach Annette Shepherd:

On thought of game: “It was a good game. Two good pitchers going after it. I would say based on the hits it was a pretty even game. But their team came out with a little more power with the homerun. Defensively it was a sound game for both teams.”

On how you prepare for a team you have not seen: “They knew as much about us as we knew about them. So you go into the game with a scouting report. We had a good idea because we saw them play in Florida. I knew what their pitcher [Jessica Rhoads] had to bring to the game. Very good player; an outstanding job she did out on the mound today. I thought we were well prepared for the game. It was a low scoring game until the homerun.

On the team coming into the game with a .376 team batting average and if she felt they would hit eventually: “Yes. Today she was throwing it hard inside. That’s actually where we like to hit. Our girls I think the first time being here took the pitches they were supposed to swing at and swung at the pitches they were supposed to let go. So we showed a little bit of [being] undisciplined in the box. Our team was hitting .391 up until regionals. So we haven’t been on in a couple of weeks.”

On being in the tournament: “Their team [Messiah] came to compete. We talked about either you come to participate or you come to compete. And they definitelt want to compete. But every team here is good. So every mistake you make the other teams capitalize and it will hurt you in the end. We play Texas-Tyler tomorrow…very, very good team; again another good pitcher. So it’s going to be hard—for both of us.”