WHO WE ARE IS WHY WE WIN

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

Eight-and-a-half months: gone. Countless 300-yard shuttles: ran. Half gassers: dominated. Lifting weights: psh, please. Mass groundballs: you know it. Hacks off a tee: done and done. Snow, ice, rain and hail: suffered.

It's finally here (feel free to read that in a whisper).

All we want to do is play.

We've been cooped up far too long: inside the Dempsey Indoor facility, in the weight room under bars racked with kilos, and layered beneath Under Armour long sleeves.

There has been a lot of talk about this year's team. With the return of our three redshirt leaders, ten players from the 2007 World Series squad (yes, ten, that's a lot) and our amazing young talent, we're finally getting our shot to show the nation what we've got (that should be the title of a rap song ... maybe lyrics to a Miley Cyrus song).

This team has a lot of fire and I am antsy to find out what this season has in store. Considering the fact that we spend every waking moment together (weights, dinner, practice, free time, study hall, class, roommates ... I wasn't kidding) it's actually pretty incredible that we aren't tearing at each other's throats. Everyone has great chemistry and shares a common love for this game.

Although, I am certain of one thing: I don't envy Coach Tarr's job of having to put together a lineup. We have so many options this year that we'll have no problem putting nine girls on the field who are ready to compete. In fact, if you want to get on the field, you just may have to tear someone's throat apart (I don't suggest it though, it could get messy).

We're ready to go to battle. Especially after hitting the Confidence Course at Fort Lewis at the end of January. We heaved ourselves over 1,000 foot walls (that may be a slight exaggeration, but not by much), army crawled under mesh netting, lowered ourselves down freestanding beams and shimmied down contraptions that you would have to see to believe. There were tears. It was intense.

But now that we have literally been battle tested: watch yo' back Tennessee, we got'chu first.

Ken Ravizza, sports psychologist extraordinaire, helped us determine that our team's biggest goal this year is to play pitch by pitch, inning by inning, and game by game. If we stick to that mantra, we will have no issue being where we want to be at the end of the season ... the "first".

The first for our program, the first of our family, the first in the nation.

We're all anxiously waiting to hit the diamond!!

Stay classy and GO TEAM PURP!!

Love, 20

February 8, 2009 Let us at 'em

AHHH!!! FINALLY!

What a freakin' phenomenal first weekend for the Dawgs! I am so, so, so very proud of the way our team played (can't you just hear the pride?). We faced some offensively aggressive teams, but our pitching and defense said "nuh-uh, get outta here". With Danielle, Felecia, and Jenna turning it over in the circle, the outfield flipping over fences to rob homeruns and our infield making diving stops, nothing could faze us.

Our offense came up clutch, as it should, with homeruns by some baller freshmen (Niki and Tails) and our senior leaders (Shlyn, Charters and Lo G), timely hitting by our vets and the rookies stepping it up under pressure.

The weather in Utah was worse than Seattle (unimaginable, I know) and it drizzled (the most annoying of drizzles) every ten minutes, but once the games got going, none of that was even a factor. With hand warmers in our back pockets, we got the job done and every game was the result of a team effort. I found it promising that when someone wasn't able to execute, someone else would step right up, say 'bring it', and make it happen. This was a great start to the season and all, but we will only get better from here.

Oh, and of course, there were some fascinating off-the-field occurrences that happened over the tournament:

* On our bus ride from the airport to our hotel, Coach Tarr played charades with us and came up with words like "because" and "concept" that we had to act out ... we didn't know she was so creative. Typically "banana" or "automobile" would have worked ...

* Friday was Ashlyn's 22nd birthday, but she decided to wait until Saturday and Sunday to hit her birthday homeruns.

* Alyson saved seven (yes: SEVEN, 7, siete!) potential runs by flipping over the outfield fence ... TWICE (which were the sickest catches ever) to rob homeruns and SAVE THE GAME on Friday night against BYU.

* I got my shot the next day against Southern Utah to rob a homerun, and I took care of it, but we were run-ruling them so it wasn't as intense as saving the game ... I preserved Felecia's shutout, that's cool right?

* Felecia crushed a ball 300 feet during our pre-game batting practice (300 frickin' feet, are you kidding me?? Is this real life?!).

* Charters blasted the difference-making grand slam against BYU (that's a nice welcome back for her; expected though).

* Lauren also clutched up big time (which is no surprise considering her middle name is 'Clutch' ... well not on her birth certificate, although her middle name does start with a "C") and she had the game-winning homerun against LMU (she's had a sweet return back to the diamond as well).

* Sunday was Morgan's 20th birthday and she saw one pitch in each of her first two at bats ... one into the left calf and one into the right calf. That girl gets hit more than anyone in the country. I would not be surprised if she makes her way into the Husky record books by the time her career is over.

* Our bus driver also informed us, in depth, that he researches Bigfoot ... now that's just weird, (but note-worthy).

We'll get another opportunity next weekend in sunny Sah-n Dee-ah-go to challenge ourselves against some other great teams! Maybe we will all get a little color, seeing as how I am currently opaque. Sexy, kinda?

"We don't have to be superstars to win championships ... all we have to do is learn to rise to every occasion, give our best effort and make those around us better as we do it."—The man, the legend, the coach: John Wooden

Stay classy and GO Team PURRRRPPPP!!

Love, 20

GAMENOTES: Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah Pre-season ranked #15/21

Feb 6 vs. (12) Tennessee W 2-1: Charters was 1-for-2 and crossed the plate as the winning run. Bailey (yeah that's right, me) was 2-for-3 and had the eventual game-winning two-run double. Lauren was also 2-for-3 in her return back to the diamond while Danielle struck out nine Lady Vol's in her first collegiate appearance in the circle since the 2007 WCWS.

Feb 6 vs. BYU W 7-3: Freshman Felecia Harris made the start and collected the win, thanks to Alyson saving seven runs by robbing a three-run homerun one inning and a grand slam the next (which would have tied up the game). AC hit the first grand slam of the year for the Dawgs and the second of her career.

Feb 7 vs. Southern Utah W 9-0 (5 inn): Niki hit her first career homerun, while eight different Huskies had hits in the game, including freshmen Kimi, Jenna and Felecia collecting their first career hits. I robbed a homerun (holla). Felecia Harris got the win. Jenna and Danielle both made appearances in the circle.

Feb 7 vs. LMU W 4-2: Danielle k'd 12 and Lauren Greer had the game-winning three-run homerun. Mrs. Alicia Blake had our other RBI in the game.

Feb 8 vs. Utah W 4-0: Taylor hit her first career homerun in her first career at bat ... while pinch-hitting (one of the hardest things to do in our sport)! Danielle had a no-no until it was broken up with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, dang it. Oh, and Ashlyn Watson hit her second homerun of the season.

Coach Tarr made a great statement in a (Feb 8, 2009) gohuskies. com article referring to the veteran leadership on our team and how 2009 is different from 2008 by saying: "When you have a veteran ball club, they know how to approach the game. Last year was completely opposite with a lot of young kids trying to contribute. Now the older kids can try to carry the load and the younger kids can work themselves into the game."

February 15 Clutching up

Weh-he-hell, we've got ourselves a delightful start to the season.

It was encouraging to see us beat up on some legit teams while having everyone throw a punch. We faced teams that should never be overlooked (if you know anything about sports, you never overlook the supposed 'underdog'). Both San Diego State and Long Beach State beat us last year in extra innings and this year we decided not to let them hang around with us by sinking their battleships early (I'm sorry. I make up weird metaphors ... get used to it). Utah State and UC Santa Barbara are also two competitive teams that were looking to take a bite out of the Dawgs but we were able to put the muzzle on 'em right away. (Wow, another awkward metaphor).

There have been several moments this year where multiple people have stepped up to make things happen and that will be the number-one thing that is going to take our team back to Oklahoma City. Several of the girls have mentioned how amazing it is that we can be down by a couple runs, and nobody hangs their head. We all know that we are going to clutch up and get 'er done. This team has that fire and it's incredibly promising! You'll see.

Coach Tarr messed around with the lineup this weekend and had several looks at girls in different positions. If you ask me, the flow of the game stayed the same in every aspect. We didn't miss a beat offensively or defensively. In all honesty, what I would do if I were a coach with this much flexible talent at my fingertips; is throw all the names in a hat, draw them out at random and just let 'em play. Seems much easier.

There wasn't much action defensively (well, I mean there was Danielle's huge milestone of striking out over 900 batters—which is unreal; Fleischman's "Jeter-like" web gems to keep the momentum of the game on our side; and Morgan's long limbs snagging yet another line drive) but offensively EVERYONE was on fire. One-through-any given nine. We were on fire like someone doused us in gasoline, struck a match, and told us to run (what does that even mean?). I've never been on a team with this much versatility and pure skillage. Everybody realizes their role and fulfills it to the max. That will be HUGE later on down the line!

Another amazing thing about our team: the girls who don't start the game are always ready when called upon. Pinch-hitting, a.k.a. one of the hardest aspects of the game, comes so easily to this team. Have you ever tried to do it? No, because it's hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it (see what I did there? I took a familiar quote from a famous movie, A League of Their Own, and worked it into my theory ... that's a writer for ya). Well, the pinch hitters on OUR team don't even flinch. In fact, they crave it. It's just another admirable characteristic that this team has. Get called off the bench and step up-that's how WE roll!

Next weekend will be no walk in the park, I can guarantee that. Facing top ranked teams in a very competitive atmosphere: this is why we play. I can't wait to see how our team matches up against other top programs. It'll be 'leet'. I can tell you this right now; we are going to go in there with the confidence necessary to get the job done. In my mind, there is nothing this team can't do, and we know the tougher it gets, the better we play. So bring it.

Take the game pitch by pitch and there is no doubt we will be victorious. That's what's up.

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard ... is what makes it great."—Coach Jimmy Dugan from A League of Their Own

Stay classy and GOOOOO team purp!

Love, 20

GAMENOTES: Campbell Cartier Classic in San Diego, California Ranked #7/10

Feb 13 vs. UC Santa Barbara W 3-0: DL k'd 12 while allowing just two meager infield hits and Ashley Charters hit UW's first triple since 2007. Ashlyn Watson went yard for the third time already this season. Beast mode.

Feb 13 vs. Utah State W 16-3 (5 inn): Kimi crushed her first career bomb (a grand slam at that) and that was just one of 15 Husky hits: AW was 2-for-3, MS was 2-for-2 with a triple, NW was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, JC was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and KP finished the game 2-for-3 with five RBI! WOW!! Check out those underclassmen!

Feb 14 vs. (25) SDSU W 5-0: DL sat down nine Aztecs and took over as the school's all-time career strike out leader and is sitting pretty at 901 punch-outs. AC hit a homerun, of course.

Feb 15 vs. (25) Long Beach State W 14-1 (5 inn): We used an 11-run 3rd inning to put the game away. Had 15 hits (again) and at least 10 different Huskies contributed to the beating with Jessica Ventoza having a career day going 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Fele hit her first career homerun. Ashley Tuiasosopo had a pinch hit RBI single, Mrs. Blake was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and driving in two RBI, B Stence was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI and up to this point in the season four of the five freshmen have hit homeruns. Are you joking?! Rookies doin' work.

Coach Tarr said it best in a gohuskies.com article (Feb 15, 2009) about the San Diego weekend and the fact that Danielle set new all-time career strike out record: "More than any of those records ... Danielle wants to do what no other pitcher has done in this program and that's win a National Championship. We have a team that's capable of doing that, but now it's a matter of going through some battles."

February 22, 2009 What happens when you're surrounded by greatness?

We've adopted a motto: the tougher it gets the better we play. That is exactly how the weekend headline reads. Five games. Five talented opponents. Five very important wins. That's what's up. Woof.

Palm Springs. (Did you know Yakima is considered the Palm Springs of Washington ... just a side note for you in case it comes up sometime in conversation).

The prestigious Cathedral City Classic tournament is a huge, scary, SAT test for teams to see what they are made of, and we came ready and willing to conquer the task at hand (but instead of a #2 pencil, we had our Mizuno bats).

Friday we dealt with two undoubtedly good teams in Long Island University and No. 2 Florida. Just because LIU isn't a ranked team, doesn't mean they are to be swept under the rug. We gave up runs early in the game but the "Comeback Dawgs" answered back right away to ensure victory.

What's up with that anyway? Giving up runs early in the game? To be honest, it's giving me heartburn. Pass me some Zantac please, Katie (she is our athletic trainer, in case that was confusing).

The nightcap against Florida was one of the more mentally exhausting games of my career (I can't say what it was like for my teammates, but I'm sure most of them would agree). Honestly, there were so many shining moments in that game I don't know if I can even give you a good idea of what it was like. It's almost like ... you had to be there.

I don't think I'd be too far off in saying it felt like a World Series match up (can you say foreshadowing??-Bailey 2011).

The stands were packed, the lights were bright and the fans were loud. It was such a cool experience. There were many opportunities to get things going, but some of us (ahem) got a little too anxious (trying to make things happen via the drag bunt and an overthrow) but thank goodness it all worked out for the best! A clutch hit by a rookie driving in a speedster (Fleischman) from 2nd, put us on the board for good.

In addition to an incredible pitching duel, our plethora of defensive web gems kept the Gators from crossing the ever-so-coveted home plate.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from WHO WE ARE IS WHY WE WINby Bailey Stenson Copyright © 2011 by Bailey Stenson. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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