One Win Away From the Super Regional - SB Postseason Blog #3
By Shelley Deadmond, Sat., 5/23/10
As you probably know, we Ducks have been busy these last couple of days! And what a pair of games!
We pulled out the win in our opener against Auburn Friday night by scoring in the sixth inning and then holding off the Tigers in spite of their having runners in scoring position in the top of the 7th.
Then there was today’s game, when we played solid, dominant softball to come out with an 11-2 win against the tournament hosting team, Georgia Tech.
These two games were very different from one another, but both great examples of what Duck softball is capable of.
On the one hand there was the Auburn game where we had few hits but executed offensively right when we needed it the most and Jessica Moore threw a heck of a game to keep us in it the whole way through.
It was clutch when shortstop Kelsey Chambers got the suicide squeeze down to get Allie Burger in safely, but when in the next inning she dove for a hard (and I mean HARD) hit ball in the 5-6 gap with runners on 1st and 3rd and 2 outs and threw the girl out at first, now that was incredible. (note: ESPN thought so too, she was number 10 on Sportscenter’s top 10 plays of the day!)
Then there was today’s match-up versus Georgia Tech; a totally different game, but just as intense in a way. There were a number of hecklers out there, as was to be expected since we were playing at their stadium, and their team came out and scored two runs in the first inning.
It wasn’t the start to the game we were hoping for, but we came right back. In the bottom of the first inning we loaded the bases and then our second baseman Kaylan Howard cleared them by going yard on a change-up for her first career grand slam for the Ducks! (Thanks Kaylan, your timing was great!)
After that first inning we knew there was no going back and no letting up till it was over. I’m so proud of all the girls staying strong through the entire game and scoring and playing error-free defense in every single inning. Our coaches are often telling us to focus on "winning the inning" and today we did exactly that.
Before the game today senior Hannah Barril said something that stuck with me. She talked about how all we really have is right now and that because of that we really do have to play every game as if it’s our last. The hard truth is that one of these days it could be.
Then later this afternoon after the game we had the rare opportunity to go watch a movie (thanks Coach White!). We saw a movie called ‘Just Wright,’ which is the story of a star NBA basketball player whose career is thrown into jeopardy by a debilitating injury. He struggles with the thought that he may have already played his last game.
I thought again of Hannah’s words and just beamed with pride in our teams’ performance so far this weekend. Now, I wont spoil the movie, but let’s just say that the basketball star gets another shot, and it was up to him what to do with it. It’s the same for us, Ducks. We’ve earned the opportunity to take this softball program further than it’s been in a long, long time and now it’s up to us to take that opportunity and run with it. Let’s go get it tomorrow!
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