Everything Ashley Chastain Woodard said after South Carolina's Game 2 loss in Super Regional

Following a 5-4 loss to UCLA in game two of the Columbia Super Regional, South Carolina head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard spoke to the media. Here’s everything she had to say.

Opening statement

“Obviously it hurts. Really disappointed that we couldn’t get the job done there at the end. I know these guys are really disappointed. We’ve got to find some way to move on from it. Got to flush it and come back ready to play tomorrow. Obviously, UCLA figured out a way to beat us at the end. I think we made a few mistakes that really cost us throughout the game. But we talked before the game about just no lead is ever enough, and we want to score a lot. We want to keep going and keep going. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a chance to bat last, and that was the situation that we’re in.

“Just disappointed that we couldn’t figure out how to win in the bottom of the seventh with the lead. But it really tests who you are. It tests this kind of feeling, this adversity, really tests who you are as a team. It’ll test my leadership for them tomorrow, it’ll test everything about who we are, and that’s just postseason, and that’s how it goes. So we’ll be better tomorrow. We’ll show up ready to play, and we just got to find some way to shake this one the rest of the day.”

What did you see on the inning-ending double play in the sixth, where the umpires called Karley Shelton out for leaving the field? What was your perspective on that?

“Yeah, I mean, once the player enters the dugout, they’re automatically out. So, unfortunately, Karley’s version was that she thought there were two outs. So she thought the out at home was the third out of the inning. So yeah, that was an unfortunate mental mistake on her part. I’ll stand behind her on sometimes those things happen. But we had some momentum there. Who knows if we would have scored some more. But she knew the play went home, and she thought that out at home was the third out of the inning, and that’s why she vacated.”

Stay on top of all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days—lock in this special offer today!

Can you take us through what you saw from Jori Heard and Sam Gress in that final inning there? And now that they’ve thrown twice this weekend, do you worry at all about the fact that UCLA might have a little bit more comfort with facing them?

“Yeah. I mean, I think it’s a big moment. It’s a big moment. And I think really looking back and evaluating the inning, you know, I think the leadoff walk was really unfortunate. And I know if Jori was here, she’d say the same thing. She’s probably going to have to figure out a way to let that go, that moment go. But it happens. And the eight and the nine hole hit the ball perfectly in the field, and they haven’t done that until that time. We had defended them and got them out really well all weekend, as in much of the lineup,

“And then bringing Sam in, she was the matchup. It’s just trying to change their momentum. They had a lot of momentum at the time, and it just didn’t work out. So, but I stand by them, you know, I think they’re really good at their craft. I think they’re really good at what they do. And game three mini series, there’s fatigue issues on both sides. So those guys have been challenged all year to come back on the third day, and be as good as they are. I have no doubt that they’ll be able to do that tomorrow.”

Does it give you some added comfort, knowing that y’all have been through a little bit of adversity at this point, even though this may probably sting a little bit more than some of the others?

“Oh yeah, yeah. I mean, I think as soon as we leave the facility today, I think that the girls will be ready to play tomorrow. We’ll find a way to kind of wash the sting of the emotion in the moment. I have full confidence in them. I mean, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve been through a lot, and I think it tests you; it’s going to test us.

“But I think we’re built for it, and we’ve shown resilience and grit all year. We’ve been with our backs against the wall multiple times since February. We’ve come through a lot. So we show up tomorrow, letting today go, and the staff will go back and evaluate and game plan and do all that stuff. But I want these guys to leave today just ready to play tomorrow and be themselves. And I have full confidence that they’ll do that.”

Does it add an extra layer of confidence knowing you probably have been the better team on the field for most of the first few games?

“Oh yeah, yeah. I think they’ve performed really well. UCLA is, they’re a great team. They’re a great offense. And I think that we’ve done a good job at limiting a lot of what they have. So yeah, I think we should have a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I think that we’ve seen multiple of their arms. We saw Tinsley a full game today. So I think we’re gonna have a lot of confidence in the game plan. And we should. We played really well, other than the bottom of the seventh, for two games.”

Visit The Insiders Forum, our exclusive Gamecocks-only, no-trolls message board!