Inside Pitch with LC: WCWS Edition (Day Two)
6/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 2, 2016
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. This week she takes "The Inside Pitch with LC" on the road to Oklahoma City for a daily blog at the 2016 Women's College World Series.
WCWS Day Two (Thursday, June 2)
Day two of our journey in Oklahoma City was quite busy, although an exciting day nonetheless for all of us. We awoke in our hotel rooms with a great view of downtown OKC -- an instant reminder that we indeed were one of eight teams still vying for the national championship trophy at the Women's College World Series. After taking a leisurely breakfast (our hotel has Cholula hot sauce for us!!) we put on our uniforms for media day. However, our jerseys were slightly altered since we wore them at Super Regionals last; they had the WCWS logo stitched onto the sleeve.
Team 39 boarded the bus and headed for ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The rainy day could not dampen our spirits, as we took headshots, interviewed with, and danced for ESPN. For some of the freshmen, media day marked the first time they had ever seen ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Although the 8,000-plus seats were empty, the behemoth was still awe-inspiring as we took in the view.
Because of the rain and storms that loomed over the eight teams here for the entire day, all of the teams were given practice time at a local indoor facility. After media day, we quickly changed out of our uniforms into practice attire and got to work. Hutch jokingly reminded us that we are quite adept at practicing indoors -- we practiced in Oosterbaan Field House for months during the cold and wintry season of Ann Arbor, Michigan, whereas other teams were able to practice outside for most of the year.
After a short yet productive practice at the indoor facility, Team 39 had something very important to celebrate: strength and conditioning coach Lew Porchiazzo's birthday! Michigan softball birthdays are always marked by delicious treats, and Lew's Pinkitzel cupcakes to share were no disappointment, as we devoured the cupcakes on the bus ride back to the hotel. We also received our present from one of our equipment sponsors, Wilson. We were each given Lacelet bracelets made of Wilson glove laces. The inside is engraved with the coordinates of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, "Team Wilson" and "#WCWS" -- all of which hold a great deal of significance to our team.
After our long day with the media and practicing, we had a team dinner at the hotel before getting a little bit of time to spend with our families that had just arrived in OKC for the week. With our first game of the Women's College World Series less than 24 hours away, we excitedly went to bed and made sure to rest up for our battle against Louisiana State University at 8:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN2. Let's go Blue People, the time is NOW!
Go Blue!
LC
