A Long, Long Time Ago…
It has been too long since I last blogged, but in the chaos of finals and packing up a dorm room that has accumulated things that I have no idea how I ended up with, I have not had the time to document the last few weeks of our season. Which is a shame, because they have been - (say it with me) - glorious. Here are a few of the highlights:
Senior and Alumni Weekend – This special weekend deserves three major “Thank Yous.” One big giant “Thank You” goes to the Lehigh Softball Partnership for organizing an incredible weekend of events. Friday night, the LUSB and alumni took over the Iron Pigs stadium and “oinked” our ways through a great game. And although I could not be there, I have heard wonderful things about the Alumni Tailgate that went on on Saturday morning before our games. The weekend took hours and hours of planning and was a huge success, so one big giant Thank You to The Lehigh Softball Partnership! The second “Thank You” goes to the alumni who came back for the game. From the perspective of a current player, it was so, so, so cool to see all of those alumni there and I can’t wait to see the turn out next year. Before the second game started, all of the present alumni names were announced and one by one, they came onto the field, high fiving the current players along the way as we lined the entrance. As one alum was going through the tunnel of LUSB players, followed by her two children, Ike and I turned to each other and made a promise. We promised to come back for every single alumni weekend for the rest of our lives. (And she added that I will definitely be the one leading my ten children onto the field with me, probably dressed in matching Lehigh outfits J ). It was a big promise, but you can hold us to it. The third and final “Thank You” goes to our five incredible seniors. They have done things for this team that have made us all forever indebted to them for our success this season. So here it is, one big, giant, monstrous, colossal “Thank You” to the Oh-Nine. We will miss you!
Patriot League Tournament – For those of you who were there to witness the Patriot League Championship game, you will understand me when I say ZEBS. For those of you who weren’t, I cannot be held responsible for revealing why or how a zebra made an appearance on Kaufman field, so you will have to do a little digging and find out from another source. Regardless, let it be known, that the Zebs came out in the eighth inning of the championship game against Lafayette, when we busted out nine runs with two outs to win the Patriot League Tournament. Props to Lafayette for coming in as the number four seed and making their way to an eight inning championship game, but unfortunately for them, the LUSB just wasn’t ready to be done. Regionals, here we come.
Thursday May 15, 2009
Whether it is coincidence or irony that this year’s blog began and will likely end in the grand old state of Florida is beyond me, but what I do know is that Florida is hot, humid, and rarely does flattering things to one’s hair. So here I am, back in Florida, tucked away in my air-conditioned hotel sanctuary, listening to the faint voice of Hannah Montana coming from P-nut’s headphones while she sleeps.
Yesterday was a very long and drawn out day of organized chaos. After stuffing my life into an anything-but-subtle purple duffle bag I packed up Bri’s car and headed to Perkins with the other Lost Boys for our last meal together at Lehigh as sophomores. (This is, of course, assuming that the University of Florida, the top team in the nation, beats us). Sam, Bri, and Mickey would be coming back to Lehigh after Regionals, but P-nut and I were planning to fly directly home, making this our last day at Lehigh.
The LUSB stormed Kaufman field one last time for a quick practice before departing for Florida. Coach Troyan, in all his kindness and wisdom, allowed us 45 minutes after practice to shower and clean up before heading to Philadelphia to sit on a cramped airplane for two hours. However, unfortunately for those passengers who would be graced with our presence on our Southwest Flight with service to Jacksonville, not many of us took him up on that offer (but, in our defense, we did wash our hands and some of us washed our faces). And while all of this intensely hygienic cleaning was taking place in the locker room, P-nut and Jen were in Sports Med, discovering their fates as they lifted their over packed suitcases onto the scale. Shortly after, the floor of the Varsity House was decorated with California wardrobes, as Nut and Jen scrambled to repack their ways down to 50 pounds.
Once P-nutty and Jen had finished eeny-meeny-minie-moing their wardrobes into a condensed form, we packed our two mini-buses and loaded up – LUSB in one, adult supervision in the other. You can only imagine.
I will spare you the tedious details of our journey through the Philadelphia airport and jump forward to the infamous arrival of our flight, where we were met, face to face, by none other than Texas A&M softball. How our flights landed and de-boarded at the exact same time is beyond me, but as our eyes met and our competitive spirits raged, we couldn’t help but take out at least some of our aggression on our future opponents. All at once, we threw down our bags and lunged forward, eyes locked on each other’s gazes. The first punch was thrown and there was no turning back. The Philadelphia airport became a blur of brown and maroon, an echoing hallway of yells as Mountain Hawks and Aggies defended their pride.
Okay, just kidding. That actually didn’t happen; and if it did, I imagine it would have been more of a step-routine dance off kind of number than an actual fist fight, because that is just our style. But we did actually get off our flight at the same time as Texas A&M and our eyes did lock, but in more of an awkward do-I-smile-or-look-away kind of gaze. I guess we will just have to settle this on the field…
Sunday May 17, 2009
It has been a nonstop weekend in the state of Florida and I am finally stealing some time to blog while sitting in the airport. What a weekend! Just to really snag you, let me start from the end. I am now sitting in the Atlanta airport…after flying here from Gainesville…after playing in the NCAA Regional championship game against the number one team in the country. Do I have you hooked? Good, now let’s go back to the beginning.
Day one was going incredibly smoothly until about fifteen minutes into our batting practice at the UF stadium, when we were struck by what soon became one of the most torrential thunderstorms I have ever been a part of. The field crew instructed us to exit the metal batting cages in fear of the frame being struck by lightning, so instead, we were told to stand in a narrow hallway formed by the sides of two brick buildings and covered by an entirely metal dome roof. Awesome, definitely safer. In no time, Brooke and Sam had both whipped out their iPhones to give us a weather update – which was weird because neither of them ever have their phone with them (hint of sarcasm). The verdict was unchallenged – we were in this for the long haul. It seemed like we would be in the hallway for hours until a smiley player from Florida A&M peaked her head out of the University of Florida Gator’s film room and asked if we wanted to join. Of course, we could not immediately answer her, given that necessary moment of playing like we didn’t want to sit in a room with an opponent (when in reality every single one of us wanted to go in there). But eventually we accepted her offer and the rest of what happened in that room will go down as one of the most outrageous LUSB shenanigans of all time.
We all sat together awkwardly on Florida’s leather couches in a film room, making eye contact and laughing at each other’s antics until Alisha broke the ice in true LUSB fashion – “SKITS!” We all cheered until eventually we were demanding that the freshmen put together a skit to entertain all of us (a regular LUSB pastime). As if Florida A&M (aka FAMU) were the LUSB of the south, they instantly chimed in “Skits! Freshmen! Skits!” until both of our team’s freshmen were making their way out into the hallway to plan. Long story short, every class ended up putting on their own skit in the Florida film room during the unexpected storm, and it was HILARIOUS! While the freshmen included quite possibly every LUSB inside joke in theirs, the sophomores showed off our dance moves in a skit that involved us transferring to the very rhythmically talented FAMU team, the juniors did dead-on impressions of the opposite team’s seniors, and the seniors did their very own LUSB-FAMU step routine. So dang good. When the Coaches finally gave the word that it was time to leave, we let out one united “awwww,” and filed out of the film room, cheeks sore from laughter and with a few new dance moves in our back pockets.
Friday started off with a 9:00 AM practice to make up for the practice that we missed during the storm. A few hours later we were back at the field to take on Texas A&M. They were looking to even the score after Lehigh knocked them out of regionals three years ago, and lucky for them, they won this battle with a final score of Lehigh -0 Texas A&M -1. But, little did they know, that on Saturday, after beating our new friends from FAMU, we would be back for more. We weren’t ready to go home yet.
To put it simply, the zebs were out during our second game against Texas A&M, and we quickly racked up two runs in the first inning. We were able to score another until they came back late in the came with a two run double that was very, very questionably fair (ahem, very questionably). But it didn’t matter. We held A&M scoreless for the rest of the game and lived to see another day. Oh, and I forgot to mention one small detail, Coach made a promise that morning. During our warm up before playing FAMU, Coach casually walked up to P-nut and said, “If we beat Texas A&M, I will have a dance off with Lisa.” Careful what you wish for. J
After beating Texas A&M deep into the hours of the night, we stormed The Olive Garden for a late night dinner. Exhausted from the heat and perhaps slightly delirious from the win, dinner consisted of Sam doing praying mantis and bird-of-paradise impressions that nearly sent us rolling on the floor in laughter. The funny thing is, looking back, you would think we would write off our hysterics to our slap-happy states of exhaustion, but Sam did both impressions again this morning, and I’ll admit it – still pretty darn funny.
So we woke up this morning for perhaps one of the most gratifying and thrilling days of our lives. Not only were we lacing up to play the best team in the entire country, but we would be playing in this once in a lifetime game with one of the most special and impactful senior classes any of us have had and will have the pleasure of knowing. Playing with them has truly been a blessing and I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to play with them for two years. None of us really expected to win that game, but I also don’t think we expected to hang scoreless with Florida for so long. But regardless of the final score, one of the most memorable moments of my LUSB life came in the seventh inning, when Lisa Sweeney threw her last pitch in her Lehigh uniform before being relieved by Curty. She and Ike hugged for a moment at the foul line, reminiscent to how they do when we win a really big game, and walked off the field. And as they did, we all took off our gloves and clapped. We were already standing, but I think in our minds we were all giving her a standing ovation. Oh, and her last pitch was a strike (of course).
Six outs later we were all crying and hugging out in left field, a tearful ending to another fantastic season. And Coach did keep his promise, dancing to his number one jam, “The Rubberband Man” right before our last game, in front of the entire Florida fan section, with us in a circle around him. We didn’t beat them, but I’m pretty sure Florida won’t soon forget the glorious, glorious LUSB.
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April 3, 2009
First home Patriot League games this weekend! I am practically squirming in my seat, anxious to play yes, but equally as excited to do the infamous LUSB Circle. Oh, the Circle. I remember my first circle like it was yesterday – the music blasting, the wind blowing in my hair. Truly an LUSB legend.
Picture this: you are standing innocently out by Kaufman Field, minding your own business, when all of a sudden, you hear the screeching of tires and seven cars, fully stocked with Lehigh Softball players, begin entering the roundabout. Bumper to bumper, they circle around it, pumping their fists out their car windows and screaming over the music that is blasting from their stereos. But they don’t stop! They go around again, and again, and again, and again. And what is that?! The side door of the 2000 BANG Bus (aka Lisa’s white minivan) flies open to reveal Kubi clutching a stick topped with an image of Taryn Hanley - legendary 2008 graduate of the LUSB, known for adorning herself with a cape and hawk wings and currently residing in Yemen…enough said. The madness continues until every hand hanging out the window puts up one finger and begins to yell, “One more! One more!” They circle again, honking their horns and leaning out of their windows, until again, each member motions toward the exit and yells, “Straight! Straight! Straight!” And then, like a dream, it’s over. One after the other, they exit the roundabout, roll up their windows, and drive on towards Kaufman Field. Another Patriot League Game Day, another Circle. Need I say it? GLORIOUS.
April 16, 2009
Lately I have had the privilege of working with some Lehigh Softball alumni on a project called the Lehigh Softball Partnership. And in our effort to keep alums connected with Lehigh Softball, I have learned two very important things: Lehigh softball makes you crazy. (The good kind – if you played on the LUSB, you know what I mean). Lehigh softball was, is, and always will be simply glorious. And how did I confirm these two facts? Let me explain with a story that happened to me today. In the midst of my hectic day of classes and group meetings, I stopped quickly in the basement computer lab of Rauch to check my email. Knowing I might have one or two updates from the Lehigh Softball Partnership, I planned on replying to a few emails and getting on my way. Little did I know that as I opened my inbox, I would be hit head on by not three, not five, not even ten, but seventeen emails from the Lehigh Softball Partnership alone!
“Omygod,” I thought, “don’t panic. Just read through them one at a time. You can do this.” So I scrolled down to the bottom of the list and clicked on the first one, titled “Lots of Info” (awesome). I read through it and quickly moved to the next one. I did this again and again until eventually I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in the middle of the computer lab. All of this “info” turned slowly but surely into a witty banter on attire for our upcoming Alumni Weekend – Lehigh softball windbreakers (those incredibly un-breathable ones that everyone eventually learns are NOT proper bus ride attire), wristbands, a 1975 athletic department hoodie, and of course, the “brown turds” – the brown sweatpants and jacket that we so eloquently now refer to as “the poop suit.” Some things never change.
April 17, 2009
Thinking about the poop suit (I wouldn’t dare say that anywhere else but at Lehigh), I realized that there are a lot of terms that a girl learns in her time on the LUSB. Some are new, some are old, some stay, and some go, but at one time or another, we have all done a Circle, had a DP, made fun of Freeze-no Statay, peaked at some wolves, or more recently, walked with the zebras. Although I can’t reveal all of the glorious secrets and hidden lives of the members of the LUSB, I will offer my insight into a few of this year’s most crucial LUSB terms:
TD Flash – (n.) a light signal that illuminates the sky when a member of the LUSB is deeply in need of the assistance of sports med extraordinaire, Tim Doane; on occasion, may also be used to refer to Tim Doane himself
Zebs (zeebs) – (n.) LUSB proclaimed abbreviation for “zebras”; used to describe the magical moments when the LUSB is truly dominating, example: “Omygod, Julie just beat out an infield hit! It must have been the zebs.” Information on the origin of this term must remain confidential.
Shag or Die – (n./v.) the actions and/or mental state assumed by any and all members of the LUSB outfield; commonly followed by the phrase “Fly Free, Fly True”
Torbalicious – (n.) a commonly used nickname for senior Ali Torborg; other nicknames include Torbs, Torbrog, Torby Torberson, Sexy Torbs, Porky, Lorbs, and George
The 09 (oh-nine) – (n.) the glorious class of 2009; also used to refer to their commonality in buttock size, example: “How did you just hit that homerun?” “It was because of the 09.”
The Lost Boys – (n.) a term used to describe the equally glorious class of 2011, who refuses to grow up
Whoawhoaweewa – an expression used to describe one’s excitement or disbelief, commonly followed by the phrase “King in the castle,” example: “Tomorrow, I’m going to wear a bow in my hair no matter what Bender says.” “Whoawhoaweewa, king in the castle”
Although these are only a few words in the language of the LUSB, they are key terms that any super-fan must know. Other important things to remember: Lisa likes green, Zan didn’t start the fire, and never EVER bomb without the whole outfield. Ever.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
It has been a rough few weeks for us as we have dropped way more games than Lehigh Softball is used to. We were all holding strong for a while, but it’s hard to keep your head up when you have lost game after game after game with no obvious reason why. I can feel my teammates dropping like flies, a few more losing hope after every loss. We need to do something to turn this around. When really bad slumps like this happen, I always think back to what one of my favorite summer ball coaches used to say, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If it’s not working, change something.” Maybe it’s time to change something – practice plans, the line up, our hairstyles, something. At this point, what do we have to lose? I just hope the team hasn’t forgotten the glorious-ness that is the LUSB. I’m still a believer.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
While standing out in left field on the University of Pennsylvania softball field, multiple thoughts come to mind. Will I be able to hear Audra yell fence over the highway traffic when I am about to collide face first with it? (The answer, from experience, is no.) Will I get some sort of radiation poisoning from all of the electrical wires and mysterious boxes lingering above my head? Why does the Asian man announcing the game have an Australian accent? And I kind of hope that smell is coming from me and not the pounds of goose feces at my feet. Needless to say, ambiance is not a strongpoint at UPenn.
After taking game one, game two was forced to end in a tie as the game was called due to darkness. As we boarded the bus and headed away from the city, P-nut twisted herself in a knot trying to get a cell phone picture of the “Master P-Nut” billboard that stood in the distance out past right-center. While we all had fun with the coincidental wording of the sign, I think Coach Troyan takes the cake for getting the most enjoyment out of it, making it a point to say “Master P-Nut” every time he read the lineup. I suspect the name will stick. Only time will tell….
Saturday March 28, 2009
Blogging from the bus after a day that lasted much longer than any of us had planned. We took down Colgate easily in the first game today and ended up fighting well into the tenth inning of the second game after coming back four runs deep in the top of the seventh. How did we do it, you ask? Enter: Lisa Sweeney and Alisha Gonzales for back to back homeruns. HOOP HOOP HOOPYEAH! (refer to “Lasarah” on Youtube.com to understand this current obsession of the LUSB). After our epic comeback, Colgate answered with their own two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh. Three innings later, Lisa “Sween Machine” Sweeney showed up for one more big time bomb over the left field fence. Game over.
Shout out to Zani (Whitney Lowe) for making an ESPN top-ten worthy dive, spin, and throw from her knees to initiate a 4-6-3 double play in the bottom of the ninth. The dugout went wild and it was certainly a momentum changing play that Bender will probably refer back to a good twelve times before the season is over and likely bring up again at Zan’s wedding. Good job, Zani!
We left Colgate 3-1. I think things are finally turning around for the LUSB.
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Saturday Feb. 28, 2009
On a typical afternoon at the Varsity House, the LUSB program can be seen dancing around the parking lot in oversized brown sweatpants and grey majestic t-shirts. That, however, is not the case at 3 am. We met at the Varsity House this morning and packed the bus to head to Newark Airport. At times like these, it is easy to forget the saint-of-a-bus-driver who is up at 3 am with us, heaving our bags up through the rear exit door and probably wondering how so few girls can possibly need so much stuff.
After braving the depths of the pot holes on I-78 and dragging a total of 42 bags through the ques up to the ticketing counter, we finally made our way through security and to our gate. Now around 5 am, the LUSB program was beginning to regain some of its usual energy as Sam Miller pulled out her baby blue Snuggie. For those of us who have never had the privilege of seeing a Snuggie infomercial, it’s along the lines of a fleecy cross between a wizard garb and a hospital gown – not exactly a discrete accessory to be worn in Terminal A of the Newark Airport. Needless to say, we made a scene.
After arriving in Florida, we reclaimed our 42 bags and jammed them into all of the available space left in our four minivans. We drove to the houses and half an hour later turned around to head off to practice. Luckily, in his years of experience, Coach Troyan has developed a full understanding of the dangerous affects of allowing the LUSB to go too long without a meal and allowed us to stop for a quick lunch. After a practice that glowed blindingly with the unveiling of our Pennsylvania winter-white legs, we headed back to the houses for what every member of the Lehigh Softball team knows as the most crucial part of any Spring Break trip – making the food shopping list.
Up since 3 am and snackless since lunch, I can only imagine the desperate measures that went on in those houses while Lisa Sweeney, Alisha Gonzales, P-nut (Alex Cueva) and I went grocery shopping. All I know is that when we arrived back two hours later, our housemates were all gathered around the stove in the kitchen watching a pot of water boil. We quickly added the pasta and were soon gathered around the kitchen table eating at a rate that could have posed a threat to any of our linebacker friends. After an unnecessarily deep analysis of each other’s eating mannerisms that left us falling out of our chairs in laughter, we were off to bed at 9:30 pm. Looong day.
Sunday March 1, 2009
Game 1 – Lehigh vs. Fairfield W 3-0
Game 2 – Lehigh vs. Niagara L 3-4
Our 6:30 am wakeup call was followed shortly by groans from every room; but it didn’t take long until people were up and running around in their “spandies,” screaming for our personal chef – Sam – to make breakfast sandwiches. There was remarkably little chaos as the seven girls sleeping upstairs piled into the two bathrooms to get ready, and at 7:10, it was off to the fields.
If there is anything an outfielder hates more than the sun, it’s the wind and today was WINDY! It was one of those days where you are either dancing underneath the high pop ups or hauling to a floater that practically hit a brick wall in midflight and is now falling straight to the ground. But the LUSB prevailed over the conditions, making some very acrobatic catches. I think Coach Bender was secretly a little excited when P-nut and I both chased windblown pop-ups face first into the fence, giving him the opportunity to say one of his favorite lines, “You better be willing to run through fences for this team.” J Oh, Bender.
We ended the day with a split, beating Fairfield 3 to 0 and losing 3 to 4 in eight innings to Niagara.
Monday March 2, 2009
Game 3 - Lehigh vs. Detroit Mercy L 1-3
Game 4 -Lehigh vs. Fairfield W 7-1
In the past few weeks we have learned something very important about one of our freshmen, Julie Fernandez – she hits bombs!! She hit her third homerun today to help us beat Fairfield. The freshmen have been doing great so far this season and have really stepped up. We have three consistent freshman starters – Audra Wood in center, Jen Colquhoun at short, and Julie at first - and another great middle infielder, Tenley Halaquist. We have been down one freshman on this trip as Steff Guillermo went home for shoulder surgery, so our total headcount only comes to seventeen, but we are hopeful that she will be back in action soon. In true LUSB fashion, we are all planning to send her an obnoxious amount of “Get Well Soon” text messages over the course of the week. I can’t wait to see what these freshmen do tomorrow!
Tuesday March 3, 2009
Game 5 - Lehigh vs. Tennessee State W 4-0
Game 6 - Lehigh vs. Saint Bonaventure W 1-0 aka CURTY’S PERFECT GAME
Two big wins today against two very good teams. Alisha hit a clutch three run homer in the sixth inning of the Tennessee State game to put us ahead 4 – 0. The highlight of the day was Curty’s (Tiffany Curtis) perfect game against Saint Bonaventure. Ike (Lauren Eichblatt) says she knew it in the third inning and when we got the last out, the place went crazy! Seven strike outs, seven ground balls, and seven fly balls. Unbelievable. The parents were saying that this was only the third perfect game in Patriot League history – one of which belongs to Lisa Sweeney. In the words of the LUSB, our pitchers are “so dang gooood!”
P.S. – The outfield caught some major air on the bomb today.
Wednesday March 4, 2009
Off Day
The LUSB stormed the outlet mall today. Enough said.
Thursday March 5, 2009
Travel Day
We packed the vans this morning to head to Clearwater for the Under Armour Invitational. Bri, P-nut, and I thought we had it made when we chose to ride in Steph’s van and been spending past car rides reveling in the glory of being able to stretch out in the spacious minivan while everyone else was packed six-deep. Little did we know that Steph is actually the world champion of minivan packing and when the open road is calling her name, leaving space for such minor things as appendages and heads is of no concern. When all was said and done, the back of our ice blue minivan was tipped downward under the weight of at least two-thirds of the team’s bags, and probably a few small children that got lost in there along the way. 5-foot tall P-nut (aka The Great and Mighty P-Nutty Buddy) snuggled right into her seat and was almost instantly fast asleep. For me, fitting my five-foot-eleven frame into a rectangular space meant for a contortionist was slightly less comfortable; I made a pocket for air and sucked it up. An hour later we arrived in Clearwater and laced up for practice.
One of the best things about Coach is that when a lot of coaches would tell us we had to sit inside for the rest of the day, our coach understands that we have been in miserably cold temperatures for the past month and a half and allowed us a few hours in the hotel pool, soaking up the Florida sunshine. One of the other great things about Coach Troyan is that he doesn’t get embarrassed when Sam and P-nut clear out the entire pool so that they can do the synchronized swimming routine they have been practicing since yesterday. As Coach has put it on multiple occasions, “You aren’t embarrassing me, you are only embarrassing yourselves.” Good thing the LUSB never gets embarrassed, even when its members are running around the women’s basketball games in Mountainhawk capes and cardboard hawk wings trying to get the whole crowd to “Hawk it out” – but that’s a whole other story.
Off to bed and ready to take on College World Series competitors Virginia Tech tomorrow. No big deal.
Friday March 6, 2009
Game 7 - Lehigh vs. Virginia Tech L 3-4
Game 8 - Lehigh vs. Fordham L 6-7
Today started off great. We were dominating Virginia Tech for six innings until they came back and won with a walk-off blooper down the left field foul line. Game two wasn’t much different, as we dropped the game to Fordham in another walk-off situation. Losing two games in a row has never quite stung so badly. There were lots of different explanations for today’s losses – playing too tense because of the “Virginia Tech” written across the uniforms, not capitalizing on scoring opportunities, losing focus – whichever way you spin it, we have some major soul searching to do tonight. We are taking on the University of South Florida tomorrow, a top 25 team, and I don’t think any of us can handle another day like today.
Coming off of two losses, our souls were a little “hurty and stingy” today. Luckily, as if he knew that on this Friday night we would need the one thing that can mend our broken hearts like nothing else, Jen’s uncle made a home cooked meal for the entire team. Salmon, pasta, salad with homemade honey mustard dressing, and loaves of bread as tall as P-nutty Buddy. After loading our plates and scarfing down our food in what was probably the only moment of peace and quiet our coaches have enjoyed on this trip, we all sat in anticipation of the next move. As we picked at the crumbs on our plates, our eyes jutted around, seeing who would make the first move toward the remains of salmon and salad left on the table. Finally, Curty scooted back her chair and almost instantly, sixteen other plastic white lawn chairs scooted back in an all or nothing race for seconds. With every last scrap of food gone and no freshmen casualties, dinner was an excellent success and we were all incredibly grateful.
Saturday March 7, 2009
Game 9 - Lehigh vs. University of South Florida W 2-0
Game 10 - Lehigh vs. Ball State University L 1-5
Big win today over USF! The game felt like the big leagues, with a gorgeous field, the USF logo painted in center field, walk-up songs, and a giant screen that rose up out of the Under Armour truck that showed our pictures.
It was definitely a team win and everyone was incredibly focused throughout the game. Lisa deserves a shout out for her pitching today! Her riseball was nasty and they just couldn’t lay off of it! Great, great game!
The loss to Ball State was another bummer. We had lots of chances to score with runners on second and third and just couldn’t capitalize. We are definitely going to have to start getting some clutch hits very soon or it could be a loooong season.
On a lighter note, official highlight of the day: Torby (Ali Torborg) messing up the numbers cheer after almost four years of hearing it every game. Instead of yelling, “Seventeen for Lisa. One, two, three,” which would normally be followed by the entire team clapping seventeen times for Lisa’s jersey number after a big hit, Torby shouted, “Seventeen for Lisa” – awkward pause – “Go!” There was no way we could recover from it, and everyone burst into laughter. Nice try, Torbs! J
Sunday March 8, 2009
Game 11 - Lehigh vs. Evansville L 1-2
Rough game this morning. I hate to say it, but I think everyone was about ready to go home. It was a very fun, but very exhausting week of playing.
It was a pretty quiet ride to the airport and it stayed that way until we got to our gate. I think everyone was still feeling a little down after the loss. Sam and I eventually decided to try to perk things up by tightening our lips into grumpy-old-man frowns and yelling across the airport in painfully unnatural British accents, “Mickey! What are you doing over there?” which was consequently followed by multiple other LUSBers repeating after us. Somehow, again, Coach didn’t seem too embarrassed.
We arrived back at Lehigh around 9:30 pm and I am very excited to be sleeping in my own bed tonight! We could have won a few more games, but all in all, it was a gloriously-LUSB Spring Break!
Check out a photo gallery of LUSB’s trip to Florida, here.
TO RETURN TO THE LEHIGH STUDENT-ATHLETE BLOGS HOME, CLICK HERE.