Inside Pitch with LC: WCWS Edition (Day Three)
6/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 3, 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 Three (Friday, June 3)
After two days of events, interviews and practices leading up to our game scheduled against LSU on Thursday, our anticipation for Game 1 of the Women's College World Series was at a high. Our game was planned to begin at 8:30 p.m. CDT, so the entire day was spent waiting around eagerly for our game later that night.
To get out of the hotel and get acclimated to the atmosphere of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in which we would later be playing, Hutch arranged for the bus to take us over to the field to watch some of the Georgia vs. Florida State game. It was a thrill to see thousands of people fill up the formerly empty stadium we had just seen at media day just 24 hours prior, and it was even more thrilling to know that we would later be playing on that field.
After our short trip to the field, we returned to the hotel and resumed waiting around for our game. Some of us filled the vacant time by hanging out with our families, others by taking a walk around Oklahoma City, and some decided to simply watch the games on TV and do nothing. Waiting, watching, and more waiting.
After a pregame meal and an exciting send off parade from the University of Michigan Alumni Club, we finally departed for the field and our first game of the WCWS. Even though there were dark and gloomy skies lurking when we got off the bus, we excitedly piled in our locker room at the complex and began getting pumped up to play by dancing and blasting music. However, the weather had a little bit of a different plan for us. With the Alabama-Oklahoma game on rain delay, Hutch came in and told us to sit down and relax, because we could be dancing for hours before we would even begin warming up to play.
More waiting.
Rain Delay. #WCWS #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/5P0Tudxzou
-- Michigan Softball (@umichsoftball) June 3, 2016
Luckily, Sierra Romero had brought in her iPod and Bluetooth speaker, so we were able to listen to music while we waited around for the weather to clear up. We played with the volleyballs and other softball equipment we had brought into the locker rooms with us for warm-ups. We sang some of our favorite go-to karaoke songs, such as "1+1" by Beyonce, or "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston.
After what felt like weeks cooped up in the locker room, Hutch finally came in and revealed the news that our game had been postponed to Friday at 8:30 p.m. CDT. Although we were disappointed we were not going to play that night, Hutch told us that it does not matter what day or what time we played -- we were in the WCWS Tournament and that is all that matters. On Friday, we will find more ways to occupy our time as the anticipation and excitement builds yet again for our game against LSU. Team 39 is ready to play.
Go Blue!
LC
