March 16, 2010
Out Of Left Field #1: Hope Howell Blog
Throughout the 2010 season, Illini captain Hope Howell will keep Illinois fans up-to-date on the Fighting Illini on and off the field. In her first entry, she talks about playing in Missouri's Children's Invitational Tournament last weekend.
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Hello Illini Nation!
CliffNotes of last weekend at the Missouri Tournament: Rain, rain, go away, come again another day....
We could tell how the weekend was going to go by the gloomy bus ride to Mizzou. That, and the waiters at the Holiday Inn breakfast saying, "There's no way you'll play today. More orange juice?"
Little do they know, we play through everything! Rain, snow, sleet, high water ... and trust me, there was plenty of it this weekend. Hollie and I are still ringing our socks out from the Bradley game.
Friday, March 12
Against New Mexico, Moni was hitting her spots to a T, freezing lefties with her screwball and throwing curves even the girl with the .403 average (according to the scoreboard) couldn't get her bat on.
Mizzou's scoreboard posts your average, HRs, RBIs, and your performance for that game. Somehow I got away with going 1-1 and 2-2 without anyone saying anything, but when I was on deck, Jackie said, "Hey guys, Hope's 3 for 3!" Cuevas immediately whapped her on the shoulder. Apparently in the 15 years Jackie's played ball, she's never heard of the no-jinx rule! I got up and grounded out to second. Needless to say, I'll be reminding her every inning next time she's pitching a no-hitter. ☺
That night we were supposed to play San Diego State, which seemed to be a little out of their element with the cold and rain. Can't blame `em. I gotta admit, it was funny to see those frozen California faces looking out on the field and horrified that they were seeing their breath in March. I recognized the look on their faces- it was mine three years ago when I was a freshman and was told by Coach Sullivan on Easter Sunday against Minnesota, "Forecast says 29 degrees....get your spikes on!"
It's incredibly frustrating to get yourself psyched up to play, put on three layers of Dri-fits, ear warmers, windbreaker, etc. and warm up for an hour and a half to just have an umpire say, "Eh...maybe later."
As the umpires debate, you tend to lose yourself in both the rhythm of the rain and your thoughts... `Man, I need a haircut...I wonder what I got on my sociology midterm....Did I remember to turn my closet light off before we left?... Hollie's highlights look cute today.... ` Until the umpire calls "Rain out!"
Saturday, March 13
On Saturday we played Bradley. We know smaller schools are always jacked to play a neighboring school, much less a Big Ten school, so our slow start wasn't because we took them lightly. We just couldn't string hits together. Later in the game, we got a couple of people on base and Vaji stole home for the go-ahead run. After that, there was no stopping us! Jess hit a bases-clearing double and with pinch runners like Linares, Nikki and Lutes who can all score on even the smallest hit, we started rolling. It just goes to show what pressure our offense can have if we take it one batter at a time.
Having the Mizzou game cancelled was kind of a downer, but we didn't come only to beat Mizzou- we came to win games. It didn't really matter who we played or how bad the field was. But we know we'll see them again.
We spent our downtime watching our men's basketball team play Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament on the big screen TV at the hotel. Great game. We thought that would have put us into the tournament, but we were robbed ☹
But I will say this for our team: We didn't let the field or weather phase us. The pitchers showed real maturity and leadership this weekend in regards to soggy softballs and a pitcher's mound full of "kitty litter." The infield and outfield were making jokes about the conditions we had to play in, but the pitchers never did. Obviously, their performances reflected their focus. Both Moni and Pepper did an amazing job this weekend, hitting their spots and staying composed with runners on. And let's face it, having Aud back there doesn't hurt. She lets the pitchers be who they are while still having an amazing presence back there. We work extremely hard on both the physical and mental side of our defense, and it's great to see us working as a unit.
Sunday, March 14
After our first game against San Diego State was rained out, we were ready to finally play them, but we need to work more on having better outs and putting the ball on the ground. Mer put us on the board with a home run I still don't think has landed, but it just wasn't enough. By the sixth, we were down by four but still felt confident we could come back. Immediately, Hollie stepped up by hitting a double and Kel Del hit a homer. That's the difference between this year and last year: defensively, we know no lead is big enough and we have to protect each run we get. Now we understand that rule applies to our offense as well, and we've rallied against even slimmer odds. We loaded the bases with two outs, and Jess hit the very first pitch down the left field line. As I rounded third base, I saw the left fielder backed against the wall and knew it was either just out of her reach (gone) or half an inch too short. I stopped to watch, said "Get out, get out" while their third baseman next to me stood there silent. It truly happened in about five seconds, but that fly ball felt like a lifetime. The left fielder went into the wall. Catch. Game over.
Obviously our team isn't satisfied with moral victories, but that doesn't mean we're down either. We're all still very confident in our offensive power and ready to play the next one.
Thanks for reading and GO ILLINI!
-- #1 Hope Howell
P.S. If I had to do it over, I'd pick Jess again.
