Feb. 29, 2008

Well, we are back from our road trip! Traveling with the team is very fun, but at times can be somewhat stressful. We left Wednesday afternoon from the airport in vans. As soon as we got to the airport we unladed our 43 bags and stood in line to check in. After checking for all of our bags, buckets and our net, we walked through security, ate and boarded the plane. It's always interesting to travel with the team because we always get people guessing what sport we play. Traveling with this many people and luggage can be tiring and hectic!

We landed in Ontario a short flight later, and this is when the trip begins to get interesting. All of our bags arrived, and we took them outside to the curb to wait for our coaches to pick us up in vans. Somehow, the reservation for our rental cars got mixed up and we sat on the curb for an hour while our coaches tried to figure out what to do. Then, after we finally loaded up all of our gear, we were trying to find the location of a restaurant, but we couldn't find it, and drove around very frustrated!! We settled on Applebee's, and had a late night dinner before driving an hour to our hotel in Palm Springs. We arrived in Palm Springs around 11:00 pm, and then waited another hour because the hotel had our reservations mixed up. Finally, after what seemed like the longest day EVER, we got into our rooms and fell asleep.

This Palm Springs Tournament we had the opportunity of a lifetime when we got the chance to play the USA Olympic team. It was amazing to see Jenny Finch and Lisa Fernandez pitch! The whole team was really excited to see them play and be able to stand in the box against the best pitchers in the world. Briana Santos and Nicole Matson go the only two hits of the weekend off the Olympic team! How awesome is that! It was a wonderful experience and after the game we took a picture with them!

The tournament was a little up and down for the team. We had a tough loss against LSU 2-1. Chelsea Engle threw a phenomenal game that night. It's really hard to stay positive after a day where we lose two games in a row. But, it's important to remember that the sun rises the next day, and it's a new day with new opportunities to succeed. Our team took advantage of those opportunities when we beat Fordham and Florida Atlantic. The team did an awesome job of staying positive and upbeat, and that night the van ride back to the hotel was much more fun then the night before!

Sunday we lost to Oregon, which is not how we wanted to end the weekend at all. Overall we went 2-3, and once again we found ourselves frustrated and trying to find reasons as to why we weren't playing to our potential. Monday is our day off, and everyone on the team took advantage to catch up on schoolwork, sleep in, and mentally clear our heads. As much as we love softball, everyone needs a day to clear their minds and focus on school. We practiced really hard this week, and talked about some things that can help us stays focused and perform this weekend.

We leave Thursday for a bus trip down to Fullerton to play another tournament. We are really excited to get back on the field and play more games. The more games we play, the more we feel like we as a team get better and stronger. I think that wraps up everything! I need to go pack for another road trip!

Talk to you soon Tiger fans! Have a great Weekend!