All good things must come to an end!

                Well we have come to the end of another amazing college softball season! Congratulations to ASU on their national championship! They looked great all season and were the complete team in the post season. I’m very happy for them! But I am sad to see the season end! It’ seems like just a couple of weeks ago I was excitedly awaiting the opening pitch and now it’s over!

                OU unfortunately never got their feet under them in WCWS and went 2 out. They had an amazing season and having nothing to be ashamed of! I can’t wait to see what Coach Gasso will do with this team over the next few seasons!

                Bama started off GREAT! Kelsi Dunne looked unbeatable as did Jackie Traina! But they ran into a brick wall called the Florida Gators in the semi’s. They dropped both games and were eliminated. The hardest part of their last game was watching Kelsi Dunne put on an obviously fake smile and hand the ball to Jackie Traina. She whispered a few words to her and went to the dugout stepping off the field and leaving her AMAZING college career forever.  

                That is the hardest part of the season ending in my opinion. It’s hard watching so many amazing careers end and most them leave so many unfulfilled dreams behind. It made me paticurally sad to watch Rhea Taylor. I know this was not the senior season she wanted and I know she didn’t have the WCWS she wanted.  She was so upset and as I watched her embracing her teammates with tears streaming down her face I found myself wanting to cry with her. Maybe I’m just a sensitive person but watching these great careers end just breaks my heart. I just want to say first off congrats to all the seniors but also thank you for all the blood, sweat, tears, time, energy and everything else you put into this game over your career! Good luck you to you all in whatever you do from here!

                With the end of the season comes awards. Some of them have made me smile and happy. Others made me sad and downright unhappy. UW faired very well in the All-Pac-10 awards. They were led once again by one of the best SS to ever play the game, Jenn Salling. She was named Pac-10 Defensive player of the year!  She along with Kimi Pohlman and Niki Williams were named to the  1^st team All-Pac-10 team(UW had more players than any other team on the 1^st team)!  Kaitlin Inglesby was named to the 2^nd team All-Pac-10 team as well as the freshman All-Pac-10 team. Victoria Hayward was also named to the Freshman team. Even though she missed almost half of the season Taylor Smith was received an honorable mention as did Morgan Stuart! I had hoped being Defensive player of the year and on the  1^st team All-Pac-10 team Jenn Salling would have a good chance at being a 1^st Team All-American. But when the All-American stuff was announced Jenn was named a  2^nd team At large bid! This just broke my heart! I thought then and I still believe she deserved more than that! She atleast deserved to be 2^nd team SS! Niki Williams was also named to the 2^nd Team All-American team.  No other Huskies were named to any of the All-American teams which also upset me.  As I already figured Jenn didn’t win the Lowe’s Senior Class award but I thought she would be a sure 1^st team Lowe’s Senior Class All-American….guess again! She again was placed on the 2^nd team(there are only 2 team)! I’ll be honest right now when I read that the other morning, I lost it! I cried and I am not afraid to admit it. It just seems so cruel! She has worked so hard, performed so well, and did so much for this team and gets little recognition for it! She deserved that 1^st team as much if not more than anybody on that list! I can’t remember what if any awards are left but at this pointing I don’t know if I can make it through another disappointment! She was named UW female athlete of the year and Kaitlin Inglesby  was named newcomer of the year! I still don’t think it’s really set in for me that the season is over and I will never again see Jenn Salling play in the purp and gold! It’s sad for me! But as the silver lining to the sadness I am so excited to watch her play with Danielle Lawrie and Ashley Charters with the USSSA Pride! She is going do amazing things in this new chapter of her life!  

                Speaking of the USSSA Pride and the NPF this weekend is opening weekend! First game for the Pride is Friday against the Bandits (I believe you can watch this game on MLB.com for free but I’m not sure). They will play on ESPN on Saturday, so  don’t forget to watch!

                Well I think that is all for now! This has been another emotional blog for me! There is a lot of happiness for ASU and their seniors but so much sadness for the rest of the teams and their seniors, Florida especially! They had an amazing senior class and team but it just wasn’t enough!  I leave you with one of my favorite quotes tonight!

                “Don’t’ cry because it’s over, smile because it happened!”

Go Huskies, RTR Go bama, Boomer Sooner, and go USSSA Pride!!

And just like that..it's over.

Well I am here with a heavy heart today! UW ended up hosting Regionals and won on 3 amazing games to face Mizzou in Super-Regionals. They played 2 nice games but it wasn’t enough and UW’s season is over. I still can’t believe it’s over. I still can’t believe the careers of 3 amazing seniors are over! My heart breaks for them! I know this is a rough night for them!  This senior class is special to me! I’m not sure why but for some reason they are!

                I remember watching Morgan Stuart and Ashley Tuiasosopo as freshman. It’s crazy to see how far they have come.  It’s hard to believe they are same people! I greatly admire Tui! She is truly a Husky through and through!  I know I’ve discussed this before but she didn’t have to stay! She could have left or just quit playing. But she held tough and she had a really great senior season!  I will miss her passion and leadership the most I think. There is just nothing better than seeing Morgan on the bases with that huge grin! She plays with such passion and joy no matter what is going on. I know these last 2 seasons were not the seasons she wanted but you’d never know it by her face or her attitude! She is such an amazing athlete but she is more than that! She is an amazing leader! All 3 of these seniors have leadership skills that most coaches would like to bottle and sell! Nope watching UW will not be the same without Morgan and Tui! I wish them so much luck in whatever they do from here and I know they will be so successful in whatever that is!

                I’ll never forget the first time I watched Jenn Salling play. It actually wasn’t for UW. It was for Team Canada! I watched her do it all, great defense, crazy throws, and she got it done with her bat too! I remember thinking that girl is something else! Well 4 years later I am even surer that girl is something else!  I didn’t realize what I was watching then or that that girl would become an (as the UCLA softball announcer said) All American everything! But I did know she was confident and that she LOVED what she was doing. A lot has changed about Jenn Salling but the one thing that hasn’t and never will is her love and passion for the game! I admire her so much! She was an amazingly talented athlete and softball at Oregon. But when she transferred to Washington something changed and she became a happy talented athlete and softball player! The transfer to Washington helped her blossom into an amazing leader, person, and even more gifted athlete! I look forward to watching her with the Pride and I believe she will have an amazing career! But one of these days she is going to make one heck of a coach!

                I have enjoyed watching these 3 play in the purple and gold and they will be so missed! They may be leaving but they leave behind a legacy in the hearts of the girls younger than them! The lessons they taught will live on!

                I’m so proud of the Huskies! Most people didn’t think they would make it this far! There were times everyone gave up on them (honestly there was  a few times I gave up on them!) but they never gave up! They fought until the very end! Kaitlin Inglesby was gain clutch! I seriously can’t wait to see what she will do the next 3 seasons! She is something special! I can’t wait until next year but it will not be the same without Jenn, Morgan, and Tui!

                My mind also turns to Coach Tarr. She invests a great deal of time in getting to know and forming strong bonds with her players and does such a great job! But I know from watching the press conference from after yesterday’s game there was something special to her about this group. You could just see it in her eyes! She has done an amazing job with those 3 young ladies and should be proud of the job her and her coaching staff have done with them!

                OU beat Arizona in 2 games to get into the WCWS! Keilani Ricketts was lights out both in the circle and with her bat! I can’t wait to see what they do from here!!

                It took Bama 3 games but they beat Stanford to advance to the WCWS! The first game of the series really worried me. Kelsi Dunne didn’t look right and honest I was worried there was something physically wrong with her. The defense couldn’t get the job done and the offense just never really got going! But they pulled it together to take the next 2 games!

                It’s taken me several hours on two days to write this because it’s just such an emotional thing for me! I’m not sure why but it is! I still can’t believe it’s over. I still can’t believe I will never see Jenn Salling, Morgan Stuart or Ashley Tuiasosopo play in the purple and gold! Congrats ladies! All 3 of you are amazing young ladies and we will miss you guys so much! You will always be Huskies in our eyes!!

                I will write later to discuss all the awards our girls got this year(and there are a bunch) but for now I’m ending by telling to enjoy every minute because life goes by so fast!!

                Go Huskies, Boomer Sooner, and RTR Go Bama!!

What a long week!

Have you ever had a week where it seemed everything that could go wrong went wrong? A week that feels like one long crappy day?? That pretty much sums up my week in a nut shell and today is Friday the 13^th. I’m scared lol! It’s been one crap fest after another and frankly I’m done with it! I’m really beginning to think it would be easier and a lot less trouble to tell college to screw off, drop out, and get a job! But enough of my belly aching on to some softball news!

Last weekend was the last regular season home series for UW and Sunday was senior day! I think we all hoped they would pull out one win against ASU. But it wasn’t meant to be. They dropped all 3 games! However they had a beautiful ceremony to honor the seniors after the game Sunday! I’ll admit it, I cried through it lol! They had a banquet that evening as well! The seniors seemed to have a really great senior day even though they lost! I think I need to follow their attitudes they always seem upbeat even when they are losing and things just aren’t going their way. On that note, voting for the Lowe’s Senior Class award wrapped up Tuesday. Unfortunately in another cruel “joke” after making several hard pushes at number 1, Jenn Salling finished in 2^nd! She could still win it if she got enough votes from the coaches and media. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess. I was really hoping she would finish 1^st. But it occurred to me last night that in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal. I know she doesn’t view it as a big deal. Sure she would love to win it. But that isn’t why she does what she does day in and day out. Her main goal is to help her team get better! She has done a great job of that this season and the lessons she passed on will remain in the hearts of those girls left behind. That is a much bigger deal and that is why she will always be number 1 in my eyes! In another sick blow neither Jenn Salling nor Niki Williams made the top ten final list for player of the year! I can’t speak for anybody else but it seems this week was filled with sick twisted blows for UW. However they’ve started off this weekend’s series on a high note with a 6-1 win over OSU! It’s the last series of the regular season and at least 2 wins would go a long way! No matter what happens from here on out the girls have had a great season! This freshman class has been incredible! Inglesby has shut the mouth of all her doubters! This senior class has done an amazing job being the leaders and players they need to be! The sophomores continue to shine as do the juniors! I can’t wait to see what happens the rest of the season! But maybe bigger than that I can’t wait to see what next season holds! Here are a couple of videos about the UW the seniors and on senior day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8BC80qigZ0&feature=feedu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm--_g8v3x8&feature=relmfu

Bama had a nice come from behind win tonight against Mississippi State in the SEC tournament! Kelsi Dunne started off a little slow but ended up pitching a very solid game! They will play Georgia tomorrow!

The selection show is Sunday! This where who is going where for regionals is announced! Should be interesting to see where each of my teams falls!

I don’t know anything else! So Go Dawgs! RTR Go Bama! Boomer Sooner!!

PS. Seems my streak of crappy luck continues! Went to post this and Blogspot is down! I hope I remember to update and post this tomorrow lol! UGH!

All good things must come to an end!

Hey everyone! Well the regular season is very quickly coming to an end I can’t believe it! This season has gone by so fast! I know I keep saying that but it really has!

          UW will play their last regular season home games this weekend against the number one team in the country the Arizona State Sun Devils! I hope for the seniors UW can come away with at least 1 win! Arizona State has been playing very well though and it’s not going to be easy! UW has been struggling a bit as of late. They dropped the first 2 games against UCLA. Both were close games and the girls did their best but it was rough! The last game of the series without a doubt was my favorite game and moment of the whole season! The girls played an amazing game and hung tight with UCLA the whole game. Kaitlin Inglesby had an amazing game. The game went into 9 innings and the Huskies came away with a huge 4-3 win with the winning run coming off a homerun by ,as the UCLA announcer said, the All-American everything senior Jenn Salling! She had a great game and really led the team but the player of that game without a doubt in my opinion was Kaitlin Inglesby! She showed what it truly means to be a husky that night! She held tough and pitched a very strong game and also had a homerun and 2 other hits! That girl is something special and I am so proud to have her as Husky! The game ended on a double play by Salling and Williams and I’ll be honest when it was over I shed a few tears! That was truly an emotional and much needed win for UW! I was very proud! Last weekend they were on the road again to play Stanford. They dropped a close game the first night but turned around to win Saturday night 7-1! We all hoped they would win Sunday and take the series but it wasn’t meant to be. I continue to see a lot improvement from everyone and they make me proud every time they step on the field. It will great for the girls to play at home this weekend! I’ve heard that all 3 games have been sold out since Tuesday! Win or lose this weekend will be special as we honor 3 wonderful women and the things they’ve done for this team! All 3 will be very much missed! I am particularly fond of Jenn Salling! She is a great athlete, a great competitor, a great leader, and a great woman! I made this video for her and would like to share it! I hope you guys enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KahuxSFC7M

          OU split their series with Texas and really looked like the team I thought they would all season! I hope this is a big turning point for them and their season!

          Bama didn’t play this weekend because of the tornados! They spent some time helping people out and will return to action this weekend!

          Well I can’t think of anything else! So for now Let’s go Dawgs, RTR Let’s go Bama, and Boomer Sooner!!

P.S. Don’t forget to keep voting for Jenn Salling until May 10^th!!

Another week, another series!

Hey everyone! Can you believe I’m back 6 days later? Yeah me either lol! I’ve kind of got a slow place as far as school work right now and I know it’s the quiet before the storm so to speak so I decided to write! I like to write! It’s very relaxing! I hope you guys enjoy reading what I write as much as I enjoy writing it!

                Last weekend was a tough one for UW! They started off the weekend with a big 3-0 win against Arizona. Kaitlin Inglesby pitched a great game and hit a homerun! Jenn Salling also had quite the game as well! Unfortunately success was short lived and they lost the next two games! They played very hard and really competed very well! It just wasn’t enough! I was very proud of all of them all weekend! This next weekend they play UCLA!  It will be another tough weekend but I believe in the girls and that they will play their very best!  It’s hard to believe how fast this season is going! It’s been a really good season for UW and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds for them!

                It was also a rough weekend for OU! They dropped 2 games to Mizzou! I see some improvement and things seem to be slowly getting better! I still believe they can do this!

                Bama continues to roll! They are looking very good and tough right now! I look for them to only look better in the last stretch of the season! They play Florida this weekend and it will be on ESPN and ESPN2!  I can’t wait to watch!!

                The NPF started a new campaign to help raise money today called 20 for 20! It seems to be going very well and that makes me happy! Anything that helps softball makes me happy! It’s really cool to see all the people who are giving and why. I was particularly touched by the gift Coach Tarr made in honor of Danielle Lawrie, Ashley Charters, and Jenn Salling! I was going to write my blog on coaches and how great of an influence they can be but I think that right there pretty much sums up what I wanted to say about coaches. They are selfless; they work hard, and they give so much of themselves. They give so much of themselves that they can’t get back and wouldn’t want back! There were a lot of these that made me smile but seeing that gift from Coach Tarr for whatever reason really made me happy! On the other side of the coin this is kind of hard for me. As a college student I don’t have much money. I babysit to make extra money but I use a lot of that to help my parents with bills and buy food! I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me because I don’t mind helping and wouldn’t have it any other way! They’ve done so much for me I feel like I owe it to them to help out. I just wish there was enough to help my parents out and give a little to the NPF! Hopefully after I pick up two more kids next week I’ll be able too! But if you can give something please do it!

                Hope you all have a great Easter weekend! There will plenty of softball to watch on TV so don’t forget to tune in to watch at least a game or two if you a chance! Don’t forget to continue to vote for Jenn Salling in the Lowe’s Senior Class Award! She has made up a ton of ground this week and moved back into second place! Let’s do this for her! She so deserves it!

                I can’t think of anything else tonight! Let’s go Dawgs! RTR! Let’s go Bama! Boomer Sooner!

Two more week gone!

Hello everyone! It’s been awhile yet again since I wrote lol! Summer is coming up so hopefully I will have more time to write! However college ball will be over so I guess I will have to write about the NPF lol!

The UW/Oregon series was a good one! UW took 2 of 3! The wins were really good performances and the one loss was a big loss! Last weekend they played Cal! They were run ruled the first game of the series but bounced back with a walk off win on Saturday off a homerun by Niki Williams! Sunday they looked great! They run ruled Cal 9-1 in 6 innings! The last 3 runs coming off a bomb by Kaitlin Inglesby! She had a great day in the circle and with the bat! She only gave up 2 hits, 1 run, and had 5 strike outs! With her bat she was 3 for 4 with 1 run and 5 RBIs! That girl is something special and is handling the pressure so well! UW plays Arizona this next weekend! I don’t know what will happen but I do know no matter what I am proud of these girls! I know I say it in almost every entry but this is a special group of girls!

It was a crazy weekend in the Pac-10 and SEC both! There really seems to be no number so far! It’s shaping up to be a crazy end of the season! UCLA dropped 2 of 3 to Stanford, Bama was swept by LSU, Arizona dropped one to Oregon State, and there were several more crazy things that happened! You just never know what is going to happen from week to week!

            I have noticed a trend this season that I’m not a big fan of. I’ve seen several girls purposely doing things that put others on the field in danger. Things like pitchers purposely hitting batters and runners sliding into bases in a way that endangers the defender. I keep hearing that this is just part of the game and I hate hearing that! It shouldn’t be part of the game! This game is supposed to be about discipline and respect! These actions show neither! These ladies are role models to all the little softballers and when they do things like that they are setting a very bad example! They need to step back and remember it’s just a game! I think what’s worse than the players actions is that there are coaches who condone them and let these things go on!  I’ve always heard it said respect the game and it will respect you! That is what I would like to see coaches and players alike doing! Respect the game, respect the players and coaches on the other team, respect the umpires, respect the fans, and respect your team and coaches! Softball is won by how many runs you score not by how many people you injure in the process!

            Two players who very much know about respecting the game are Niki Williams and Jenn Salling! Both were named to the 25 finalist for the USA player of the year award! So proud of those two! Don’t forget voting is still open for the Lowe’s Senior Class award and Jenn Salling still needs our votes!! Remember you can vote once a day per computer through May 10^th! Here is a video she made for this! http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=570422392236&oid=46364349899&comments

            That is all I have for now! Let’s go Dawgs, Roll Tide, and Boomer Sooner!!

Some random thoughts for ya lol!

Hey everyone! I’m back again and in less than a week this time lol! That has to be a record me for me! I can’t believe how fast the season is going! There is about 7 weeks left in regular season play! Seems like just yesterday I was excitedly awaiting the start of the season! As most of you know Pac-10 play kicked off today for all the teams but UW. The UW/Oregon game was rained out today. They are supposed to play a double header tomorrow but there is like an 80% chance of rain tomorrow too so I guess we will see! About this time of the season I find myself feeling a little sad to go along with my excitement! I feel sad because I find myself thinking about all the seniors. I can’t imagine the range of emotions going through them right now. You know they try not to even think about it but it’s there. The thoughts of this thing they’ve dedicated at least 4 years to being over and wondering how it will end. Some of them wondering what they will do now and some of them already know! My mind of course turns to Jenn Salling, Morgan Stuart, and Ashley Tuiasosopo especially. Jenn is a 6^th year senior! She has been around along time and experienced almost all of it! She has worked very hard and seen a lot of success and happiness! She has experienced her fair share of failures and sadness as well! But Jenn loves the game of softball and is 100% committed to it and her team! She has stepped in and taken over as one of the big leaders of this team! She has always been a leader but it was covered up by Danielle Lawrie and Jenn didn’t mind it! She let Danielle do what Danielle did best! But this has been Jenn’s season to shine and she has done an amazing job! You can just tell how much the freshman look up to her and adore her! It will be sad for me to watch her go but she has done her job and done it well! She will be missed but she will leave behind the lessons she taught and the sprit she bring. She will be playing for the Pride this summer and I fully believe she will do great things for them! I’m happy for her but I know leaving UW and the Huskies will be very hard on her. Morgan is a quiet strength. She has been a great leader on and off the field. She made a big splash from the day she came to UW! Morgan is known for her key plays! She is the type of person who can strike out 3 times in a game and then come back the 4^th time when the game is on the line and the pressure is on and jack a game winning homerun! That is just Morgan! In fact, she knocked in the go ahead run in the second game of the National Championship in 09! I don’t know what Morgan has planned after graduation but she’ll be successful in whatever she does! I will miss her big grin when she does something good! She tends to be pretty quiet I think but there are times in the game if you watch for them that she shows you how much passion and emotion she has for the game! I’ve enjoyed watching her play and I will miss her! Ashley didn’t get to play much the first 3 years of her career. There were just so many great outfielders those years that she didn’t get much chance. I was reading an article earlier (which I will post a link to later on in the blog) about her and it just confirmed what I thought about her. I also read in that article that Coach Tarr wanted her to redshirt her freshman year but they already had too many who were already red shirting and so she couldn’t. But you would never find her complaining! She’s played much more this year and has done a wonderful job! I admire her a lot! I admire that she never gave up. Some people would have changed schools or just quit the team. But not Ashley, she stayed! She stayed and she fought! She will always have a special place in my heart and serve as reminder to me that no matter how little everyone has a part to play and your little part can make a big difference!

          While on the subject of seniors UW fans Jenn Salling is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior Class Award! You can vote for her once a day per computer! She started off in the lead but has fallen off sharply! Please go vote for her! Let’s give Jenn one more sign of how much we love her, appreciate her, and how glad we are she battled through that long journey to come to play for UW! She has had an amazing 6 years and she deserves this award!!

          I don’t know how much sense this entry will make. I know it was a lot of weird ramblings but it’s what on my heart right now! Sorry it was so long!

Here are some links for ya!

http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/ This is to vote for Jenn! Remember vote everyday up to May 10^th!

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/040111aaa.html This is the article about Ashley!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK_FphAteRw I realized that I had not shared this on here yet and wanted to do so! I started working on this the night UW was knocked out of the WCWS last year! I made several other videos that you can see on my profile on youtube but this is my favorite! I hope you enjoy it!! I own nothing in any of my vidoes! I just do them for fun!

          That’s all for now! Go Dawgs, Roll Tide, and Boomer Sooner (they could some love right now! It’s been a rough up and down season so far!)