Everything Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball Said before Facing UCLA in WCWS

It is almost game day at the Women's College World series, but before the action gets underway, the teams met with the media in Oklahoma City on Wednesday afternoon.

Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy, catcher Marlie Giles and pitcher Jocelyn Briski spoke before the top-seeded Crimson Tide faces No. 8 UCLA on Thursday. Here's everything they had to say:

Full transcript

Transcript courtesy of ASAP Sports

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy and players Jocelyn Briski and Marlie Giles.

PATRICK MURPHY: Appreciate everybody being here. You know, this never gets old. And if you saw any of my press conferences the entire year, this was a team that I really, really wanted to get back here with. They have been nothing but an absolute joy to coach, to be around. On and off the field, they've been perfect young ladies.

Team GPA of 3.78. We had like 21 4.0s between the fall and the spring, which has never happened before. So they are the true definition of student-athletes. And they're also pretty good softball players.

So it has just been a lot of fun this spring in Tuscaloosa.

Q. Now that you're here on the big stage, how do you stay calm and collected when you know that the stakes are on -- you're favored to have a favored run in this?

JOCELYN BRISKI: I think that we're all just really excited to be here. Everyone's just going to relish in the moment, and it's just going to be a fun experience for everyone. All of us, I think, we're just prepared to go out there and perform on the national stage, and we can't wait.

MARLIE GILES: Along with what Joc said, keeping the main thing, the main thing. We've been great together all year. And remember don't let the camera and the glam get to our heads, and just remember we're here to play softball, play for each other, and we're here to have a good time.

Q. I think sometimes Lance doesn't enough credit for what he's done over the past years. Why do you think he's so good at what he does in developing your pitching staff?

PATRICK MURPHY: I try to give him a lot of credit. He has been terrific from day one. I think he's had an All-American every year except year one. I think when we lost staff, we interviewed a bunch of people, really good people. The thing that stood out to me with him is he used the word "develop" almost the entire interview.

He did a great job at Illinois. He worked under really good pitching coaches at Missouri and LSU, and was in Division I Power 4 softball for almost four, three -- seven plus six -- 13 years. So he had great experience.

His first task coming into Alabama was, by the way, you're coaching Montana Fouts her last year. A lot of people would have been intimidated by that; he wasn't. One of the things I had people do, I gave them homework. Whoever I interviewed had to give me an 8-hour-per-week workout and a 20-hour-per-week workout for Montana. He obviously passed with flying colors and has done a heck of a good job with Miss Briski here and obviously now is an All-American. So appreciate that.

Just he does a great job. He's very even-keeled, really good communicator. Obviously he's younger. I'll let you talk too.

JOCELYN BRISKI: Lance has been awesome. I think something he has done really well is he has great relationships with all the pitchers, and he knows that each and every one of us is different from each other. He just does a really great job of understanding what we need and what we don't need.

I feel like, if he shows us something in the bullpen, there's not just one way we have to do it. If we don't like it, we'll tell him we don't like it, and he's totally fine with that. We'll figure it out until we find something that we can agree on.

He's done a great of developing. He taught me my drop ball, taught me so many things. I can't give enough praise to Lance.

Q. You've seen this event evolve over the years. Obviously a lot of times you've been here, Oklahoma has also been here, or Oklahoma State, quite honestly. Neither of them are. What's your expectation of just what this will feel like, be like, crowds, all that? A lot of star power. I think softball fans want to see people like Jocelyn and others that are in this tournament. But what's your expectation just of what this event looks like?

PATRICK MURPHY: First, to all the Oklahoma fans that are looking for a team to cheer for, it's right here. We have the same color palette. AMA at the bottom. You can almost think it says Oklahoma, pretend it does. I'll take those 10,000 fans cheering for us.

I think it's parity in the sport. I don't think anybody ever thought it would happen. You have SEC going against SEC just like we did last year to Oklahoma. First game was really good; second game not so good. You've got to give a lot of credit to Sam and her team.

For the sport and for just the fans involved, it gives them another opportunity to get to know another team such as State. One of the coolest things about this year is there was two schools in the SEC that had not made the World Series, and they both made it this year. I hope you guys realize there's 15 schools in the SEC, and now every single one of us has made a World Series. Unbelievable.

Q. Murph, with all the changes we've seen across college athletics the last five years, it's changed your job, all of college coaches' jobs somewhat. Has coaching this group reenergized you, rejuvenated you in some way?

PATRICK MURPHY: Absolutely. It's hard to get a team-first mentality, it is, even without all the changes. They have played their role to perfection. Every single one of them, 1 to 21. There's never been a Debbie the downer. There's never been a poor, poor, pitiful me. I've never had that experience this year.

There's been some very tough decisions on who plays and who doesn't. I mean, it starts with the senior class. Marlie is definitely one of our leaders, but there's also leaders that -- Larissa Preuitt, who did not get to start a lot in the SEC. Kinley Pate, I don't think she started a game, maybe one all year, a senior. Abby Duchscherer, great teammate. Alea Johnson, a pitcher, great teammate.

I feel like you can do this. This group showed us that you can do this still. Despite all the changes, you can still have a team that puts the team first and goals second, and they've proven it.

Q. Coach, good to see you in person. You've been here so many times with different teams. Do you stick to the same routine every time you come here, or do you kind of lean on your players, your leaders, and get a sense of what would work for them when you bring a team here?

PATRICK MURPHY: Number one, we have to go to Redrock Canyon Grill. That's a must. That's first, the direct route. Jadyn Spencer does a heck of a good job.

But we will ask the seniors, especially at the end of the year. One of the things we've tried over the year is we don't want them to be dead tired in May. That would be the worst thing for me if one of them come up to me and says "I'm exhausted."

We've had opportunities where we've had one day off and opportunities to give them two days off, and we want to do that because we want them fresh at the end of the year.

And the last stage of team building is performing. We want to be performing in May. Thankfully we did it this year. But definitely, if I had a question about something, I would not hesitate to ask either one of them and say, hey, what do you guys think?

Today's a good example. With the weather, what's more important, do you want to hit or do you want to field? Things like that, I would definitely go ask a player.

Q. Jocelyn and Marlie, everyone on the team has their own intangible, but as a team collectively, outside the obvious goal of winning, do you have any intangible you're bringing into your time here? Also for Coach, what is your personal intangible you're heading into this week with?

MARLIE GILES: Mine for the past four years has been something to do with being competitive and just bringing a fire to the team every day. One thing that was special about this team is I think we counted up, it was like 80 percent of the team, their intangible had something to do with being competitive and bringing energy every day in practice, every game we play.

So I think that kind of entails how well we've played together this year is because we all have the same end goal. We want to compete, and we want to win. I think going along with the plan together and plan for one another, when you've got a team of girls that just want to win, that's whenever we're able to put the team first and to not sulk and to not put myself first.

JOCELYN BRISKI: I think it's been really cool this year because every single person has bought into their intangible and has done it to the best of their abilities. It's why we've been so successful this year because no one has really shied away from what their intangible was, and if someone did, I'm sure someone held them accountable of what their intangible was.

That's something we also do a really good job of is holding each other accountable. It's just been awesome watching everyone buy into their role no matter what it's been this year.

PATRICK MURPHY: Mine has been consistency, trying to be a consistent presence day in and day out, whether it's practice, games, off the field. I think an 18- to 22-year-old needs a consistent presence in their life. They don't need a roller coaster ride of emotions. I try to be very consistent, even-keeled across the board.

Q. Jocelyn, how are you embracing a World Series field that has so many of the top arms in the sport? You, Jordy, Karlyn, you, NiJa, and how does that raise the competition over the next week?

JOCELYN BRISKI: I'm excited to go play with this group. We only get to have team 31 times. I'm excited to go out there one last time this week and just play with everyone. It's just been an awesome year and just been an honor of everything that has happened.

I just think really the main goal here is to just go out and win one game at a time and win each game. I'm just excited to take the field. It all starts tomorrow, and we're just focusing on that game tomorrow.

Q. Marlie and Jocelyn, I think a lot of outsiders look at your head coach and see a nice guy, Mr. Nice Guy. Maybe he's not in practice, I don't know. But the fist pump after you guys get the top overall seed, just kind of his genuineness. I'm curious if you could take us inside that and just what you -- you know, the Coach Murphy you guys know and just how he is with you guys.

MARLIE GILES: I will say he's not putting up a face for you guys, like he truly is the way that he talks to you and how he is to us. And a little to prove my point, we had alumni weekend against Kentucky this year, and there was a list of, I think, a hundred and something alumni, and he went through every single alumni and read us their name, who they are, where they live, what they're doing with their life. He knew all those things about every single person who had came through and played. Not even all of them were players. Some of them were student managers, some of them were assistants, some of them volunteer.

This program is just completely one and its own, and it's because of him. I hope he knows that and how much we appreciate him because we truly are lucky to have him.

JOCELYN BRISKI: Yeah, what you see on the field is exactly what you're going to get behind the scenes. He preaches so much person over athlete, and he truly means it. He shows us every single day that we matter more as who we are as people. He doesn't care what we do on the field. He'll tell us all the time: I don't care if you go 0 for 4, no matter what you do, I'm still going to love you no matter what. And he truly means it.

Q. Does he do that fist pump all the time?

JOCELYN BRISKI: I feel like I've seen you do it a couple times since.

PATRICK MURPHY: Not often.

MARLIE GILES: If we win a Natty, he'll do it.

PATRICK MURPHY: I will definitely do it.

Q. Marlie, you've got Jocelyn on this stage in this event. How have you seen, from your point of view, her grow into the pitcher that she is today?

MARLIE GILES: It's definitely -- it's been a journey. Honestly, since Joc's freshman year, catching her in regionals and supers and at the World Series, I knew she was going to be who she has become in this year and what she will become next year.

Truly, she just works so hard. I've seen her just grow in her faith and grow in her love for the sport and her growth just with Lance and with pitching and everything. But she's always been just such a presence on our team and someone that we can rely on even since she was a freshman.

I know she's had a lot better year this year per se, you could say, but she's always been the heart and soul of our team and just been so important to us even when she didn't have the title of having as good of a year as she had this year.

PATRICK MURPHY: A little recruiting tidbit info for you. Her summer in Colorado, she was pitching. Marlie's team was the Thunderbolts from Birmingham, and they were playing against each other. So there was like four or five off of Marlie's team that we either had or were recruiting.

The young lady pitching against them shut them out in Colorado -- which all of you realize, you don't do shutouts in Colorado because the ball takes off like you know what, a rocket. So afterwards, I was like this girl just shut out a really good hitting team, and that's when she won me over, that day.

Q. Coach, UCLA-Alabama just sounds good. That matchup, you know that staff well with Kelly and with Coach Lisa, who's running the offense this year. Just talk about what you see in them and that coaching staff.

PATRICK MURPHY: It's like the New York Yankees, Murderers' Row, you name it. You look at the numbers, and you're like, wait a minute, how in the world? Woolery has I don't know how many home runs but also like 200 RBIs.

You say, okay, I'm going to walk her, and then the next girl has 20 home runs, and you say, oh, I'm going to walk her, and then the next girl has 18. It is obviously a very difficult lineup to pitch against, to defend against. It is the Bronx Bombers for sure. I know we're going to do anything and everything. We're going to throw the kitchen sink and see what happens.

Just a very good offense, record numbers across the board in collegiate softball by them. They've got a lot to be proud of, and it will be a battle for sure.

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