March 18, 2008

Hi Tiger fans! I know it's been a really long time since I have written, but this is the busiest time of the year for us! Spring has been crazy, but I will catch you up, don't worry!

Let's see, on March 5 we played Boston College at home. It was so nice to finally have a home game after so many games away. We hit the ball really well, and with Chelsea Engle dominating in the circle it was a good day for us!

The very next day we left for Arizona, which was a long travel day! Playing at Arizona State gave us the opportunity to play at one of the best fields in the nation. We started the day Friday with a really tough loss to San Diego, and came back and beat No. 17 ranked San Diego State. It was a frustrating day for all of us because we knew that we should have won both games, but beating a ranked team was a great boost for us.

That night, we went to Karie Wilson's dad's culinary Institute and had an amazing dinner. Her dad and his students cooked the best dinner ever; lobster pasta, steak, salads, fish and the best cheesecake I have ever had! It was awesome! After dinner, Boss let us hang out with our families for a few hours, which was really nice. So many parents travel all over to see us play, it's really nice to be able to spend some time with them. The next day we played Arizona State, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Utah.

We had a tough game against ASU, and going into a team's home field and their fans can be an intimidating factor. After losing to ASU, we came back and beat Utah later that night. It was a nice feeling ending the day with a win. On Sunday, playing our 5th game of the weekend, we lost to San Diego State. It was a long weekend, and a frustrating one at that.

Our next games following the Arizona tournament were on March 12, when we played a double header against Santa Clara. I guess you can say that we took out some frustration on the Broncos! We beat the Broncos 8-0 in the first game and 9-1 in the second, ending both games in the 5th inning. We hit the ball really well in both games and it felt amazing to get two wins in one day. The best moment of that day in my mind came in the 5th inning in the last game. We needed one run to end the game early, and Boss put in Lauren Sandelin to pinch-hit. She hit a hard shot through the left side of the defense, ending the game. It was awesome!

During this week we had spring break, which was nice because all we really did was eat, sleep and play softball. It nice to have a break from school! We played four games this past weekend to end our break. First, on Saturday, we played a double header against San Jose State. Once again, we followed our pattern of losing the first game and then getting our revenge in the second game. We lost the first game 3-1, and then beat the Spartans in game two, 3-1.

Sunday we played another double-header against Cal State Bakersfield. Once again, we lost the first game and then came back and won the second game. In the second game, I was feeling really strong in the circle and I was having fun and playing relaxed. As hard as it is to do, staying relaxed and not trying too hard when playing is better than trying too hard! I often times try too hard, and it only works against me. When I relax and have fun, good things happen.

I think that covers it! We finally have a stretch of home games, which is really nice! Being on the road is really hard and tiring, so being able to play at home and have fans come and support you is a great feeling! Have a good week Tiger fans!