We made it. 6 games, in 3 days and with some unfortunate emotions, we made it to our day off. Whew. Its been a tough and trying 72 hours but the Blugolds have once again managed to rally and find a way to get things done. Let's take a look back...
Thursday presented us with our WIAC opener against Stout. With Stout being our I-94 rival, there was more at stake on the double header than just 2 wins. We managed to avenge our uncharacteristic 2009 performance at Stout by sweeping the Blue Devils and start off the season undefeated in conference.
The Blugolds were then put to the test. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Not only did we have classes as usual in the morning along with our rescheduled double header vs. Superior, but one of our teammates lost someone very dear to her heart. It was a loss that hit very close to home for many of us and we had to lean on each other for support. We had to rally together, find a way to start the healing process and dig deep to find the good of the situation. It was a tough and exhausting night to say the least.
Friday afternoon brought us all together once again. Before our pre-game warm up we all took a deep breath, tried to focus on the task at hand and find a way to get 2 wins against a Superior team that has played "spoiler" the last couple years. Not to mention, they have a very relaxed playing style. So, not only did we need to find the energy for ourselves, but we had to bring it for 2 teams.
We showed a lot of heart, getting through those two games with tough defense, pitching and clutch hitting to earn our second sweep of the season and remain undefeated in conference. And with everyone else in the conference sporting at least 1 loss in the WIAC, we were sitting pretty.
Now the true test. Central, IA, the 5th ranked team in the country, was our next opponent. It was our 5-6th games in 3 days, we were exhausted and considering the other circumstances, we had every reason to let these two games slide.
Game one was a battle. We lost to a very, very good team. Even though the score was 11-1, I personally felt like it was closer than the books portrayed. But never the less, our bats were silent, our defense was a little shaky and sometimes, good hitters will beat good pitching. That "blow out" gave us even more reason for us to let game 2 slip away...
Game two was different. We held Central's offense in check. Going into the bottom of the 6th we were down 5-2 and with two outs, we came to life. We had two runners on and we were at the top of the order. Harp walked, and Acker pinch hit and had a grrrrrreat at bat to give us back to back walks. Then it was go time! Sara Baum, Jess Freagon and I had back-to-back-to-back singles to bring the score to 8-5 going into the top of the 7th. Lauren Carlson came in to close the game and got 3 BIG outs to end Central's 23 game winning streak!
We made it. 5-1 in 3 days, a win against a top 5 team, and an undefeated conference record. We battled adversity and everything that was thrown our way. We could finally breathe in between the tears of joy and tears of loss. We grew as a team and as individuals this week. We grew as one single unit fighting for each other every step of the way. I'm so proud of this group of girls, our coaching staff, and our friends and family that help us get through each and every day. As Karen has said, "To be alive is power." Well I'm going to add to that....love is power. And with the love that we showed these last 72 hours, the sky is the limit for us. Remember ladies, God only gives us what he knows we can handle.
Until next time,
Em
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