Sophomore Elon Butler talks about her ambitions for this season.
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00:00 I'm with Ilan Butler, Cal sophomore, second baseman from San Jose, and she's having a
00:07 terrific season, batting .474, entering the week, and 1.026 slugging percentage to lead
00:15 the Pac-12.
00:16 That's pretty gaudy.
00:18 Thanks for joining me, Ilan.
00:19 How you doing?
00:20 Hi, I'm good.
00:21 How are you?
00:22 Great.
00:23 Yeah.
00:24 So just tell me what this season's been like for you and your teammates so far.
00:27 You've won 15-1, I think you've won 13 in a row.
00:30 Yeah, it's been so fun.
00:35 I love all my teammates.
00:36 We work really hard day in and day out.
00:38 I love spending time with them, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the season goes.
00:43 So you were an all-Pac-12 freshman selection last year.
00:48 It looks like you've upped your game even more this year.
00:52 What are you doing better?
00:53 How did you make this step up to where you're at now?
00:56 I think I just really started believing in myself and setting higher standards for myself
01:01 as well.
01:02 I kind of worked on, I had a lot of, not to say I had a lot of weaknesses in my swing,
01:07 but I definitely had a lot of things that I could improve upon, and I just made it a
01:11 point over the summer and during the fall to work on those things and just get my best
01:15 ever every single day.
01:16 I think you were right at 500 until a couple of days ago, right?
01:20 Yeah.
01:21 Was that a little mind-boggling, or was that part of your-
01:24 It's surreal.
01:25 I just really have been trusting myself and trusting the work that I've been putting in
01:30 every single day and just giving it my all every single day.
01:36 So this weekend, you guys head over to Stanford to an invitational they have.
01:40 You'll play four games.
01:41 Two of them are against Georgia, which is the number three team in the country right
01:45 now.
01:46 Yeah.
01:47 Tell me just what it's going to mean for you guys to get tested against a real elite program
01:51 like that, and especially a week away from starting Pac-12s.
01:54 Yeah.
01:55 I mean, Coach always talks about how she wants a postseason feel early.
01:59 I really do believe that we're a World Series contender, so it's going to be fun to see
02:03 how we match up against a team like Georgia.
02:05 So I'm excited.
02:06 What's the team's confidence level right now?
02:09 Confidence is pretty high.
02:10 Confidence is pretty high.
02:11 We've been working really, really hard.
02:14 Coaching staff has been working really hard, and I trust my teammates, and I trust my coaching
02:18 staff, and I trust us, and we're going to go out there and give our best.
02:22 Tell me about your freshman pitcher, left-hander, Randi Rowling, what she looked like so far.
02:28 Randi's great.
02:29 I love her energy.
02:31 She's such a good person to be around, super fun, definitely a great addition to our team.
02:36 She got some nasty stuff, and we just love watching her play.
02:39 We love Randi.
02:40 Will she be calming down from an infielder when she goes to that program?
02:45 Yeah.
02:46 Sometimes.
02:47 Sometimes she'll get up there.
02:48 She'll get up there, but she be throwing it, so yeah.
02:54 How much will what you guys are able to do this week give you a measuring stick for where
03:00 you're at going into Pac-12?
03:02 You play up in Oregon, I believe, next week.
03:06 And how much can it give you a boost of further confidence?
03:10 Yeah, I think it'll just, again, like I said, test where we're at and see, again, getting
03:17 that postseason feel, because I highly believe that we're a World Series contenders again.
03:24 I guess it'll be a good measuring stick of where we need to be and where we need to improve.
03:30 And seeing, even if we do win both of the games, what else can we improve on top of
03:35 that?
03:36 I feel like there's always growth in a lot of areas.
03:38 No matter win, lose, or draw, you can always learn from a situation.
03:43 So I think I'm confident in my teammates that we're going to be able to put a good performance
03:48 up.
03:49 We're heading into the final season of the Pac-12 as we know it.
03:54 Are you sad about that?
03:55 And the league is obviously really good in softball.
03:59 How do you think you guys fit into that?
04:01 Yeah, I'm honestly really sad.
04:05 Playing the Pac has always been my dream as a kid.
04:08 I'm grateful that I was a part of it for two years, but I wish I could be part of it more.
04:15 But I'm also excited to go to the ACC and play those teams out there.
04:19 So it's just, I'm really sad about the Pac.
04:22 It was someplace that was really close to my heart, and now that it's gone, it's kind
04:27 of like, ugh.
04:30 But I am really, really excited about the ACC.
04:36 And do you guys feel like you have it in you to make some noise in this final season of
04:39 the Pac-12 and challenge?
04:41 Yeah, that's the goal.
04:43 I definitely think we're fully capable of, I think people kind of underestimate our team
04:48 as a whole.
04:49 And I think we're fully capable of doing big things in the Pac.
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