The Inside Pitch with LC: Blast from the Past
3/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2016
Taylor Swearingen (left) and Tera Blanco have been teammates since their youth.
Senior catcher Lauren Connell will be blogging throughout the softball season to let Michigan fans in on what happens outside of the field of play. Check back to MGoBlue.com each Monday to read "The Inside Pitch with LC."
This past weekend of games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, California, was reminiscent of the travel softball days of our youth for the members of Team 39. Instead of playing at a college softball stadium, we played at a quad of fields with temporary fences and did our warm ups in the outfield area in between the temporary fence and the real fence. There were T-shirt and hair bow vendors on every corner of the complex, and an array of canopy tents and fold-out chairs dotted the foul lines.
In honor of the throwback weekend, here are some retro pictures of Michigan Softball players in their youth. Hopefully you all enjoy these pictures as much as we did. They are hilarious!
Left: Katie Alexander looks confused in this picture, wondering why she is up to bat with no catcher. Center: Tera Blanco looks exactly the same as she does today standing on first, but luckily she grew to be taller than 12 inches. Right: Faith Canfield throws up the deuces to her fans.
Left: Who would have thought that Kelly Christner (right) and her sister (Wisconsin's Katie Christner) would end up both as Big Ten athletes? Center: I am already thinking up blog post ideas for "The Inside Pitch." Right: Leah Crockett wears her protective face mask just in case she has to chase a foul ball into the forest behind her.
Left: "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." -- Aidan Falk, who could pass for an extra in The Sandlot. Center: Sierra Lawrence shows off her sassiest pose for the Shiloh Roadsters. Right: Mischievous Lindsay Montemarano already looks like she is up to no good.
Left: Mackenzie Nemitz proves that wearing a Winnie the Pooh shirt and playing softball is cool. Center: Natalie Peters ran so fast she engulfed her helmet in flames. Right: Courtney Richardson and her brother look like the ball-playing grandchildren of American Gothic.
Left: A double take of Sierra Romero shows her adhering to the '90s fashion laws of bangs and a scrunchie. Center: Mary Sbonek shows off her girly side as she plays baseball in her Easter Sunday dress. Right: Kelsey Susalla flashes her hardware for the Garden City Slammers.
Left: Even funnier than Taylor Swearingen's awkward pose in this picture is her hat with monster eyes on it. Center: Hopefully after delivering the pitch, Morgan Swift realized she forgot to wear her long socks for the game. Right: Amanda Vargas shows off her pearly whites.
Once upon a time, we were all just little girls with big dreams of playing softball at a high level. Now, we have the privilege of living our dreams as proud members of the Michigan Softball team. Catch us in action this week as we face UCLA on Wednesday (March 2) and enter the Judi Garman Classic.
Go Blue!
LC
