Feb. 11, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford outfielder Cassadra Roulund talks about the opening weekend of the season in this edition of her blog. The sophomore will be blogging all season long to give Cardinal fans a behind-the-scenes look at the team.
Welcome back!
I hope you all tuned into our games at the Kajikawa Classic this past weekend in Arizona! If not, I'll give you a quick rundown of our weekend. We ended with a record of 4-2, beating Bradley, Portland State, Cal Poly, and Indiana. Unfortunately, we lost to No. 2 Oklahoma and Kentucky; however, games were great opportunities to learn and grow as a team.
It was our very first travel extravaganza of 2013 with the team. The freshmen had a fantastic time! Hass (Sarah Hassman) and I had the pleasure of rooming with Plaza (Jessica Plaza). Seeing as though it was her first trip with Stanford softball, I conducted a little post-weekend interview on the bus ride back from the airport (sharing some of her grandma's famous empanadas nonetheless):
Boo: "What was it like traveling for the first time with the team?"
JP: "Really fun and exciting. It was great to share this experience with the team for the first time!"
Boo: "Highlights of the trip?"
JP: "Spotlight! It's where you put your music [in your headphones] on high so you can't hear yourself singing and you stand at the back of the bus and perform. I also liked getting to know my teammates better... especially my roommates."
Boo: "Did anything surprise you?"
JP: "How much time we spent at the field! (Referring to our three and a half hour long game) Also, how much we ate!"
Boo: "What was it like hitting your first collegiate home run?"
JP: "It definitely felt like everything we worked on in the fall was coming together. It was a confidence booster. It felt thrilling to be able to contribute to the team."
Boo: "Were there any not-so-great moments?"
JP: "I came back to the room a little late one night and it was dark and my roommates [Boo and Hass] were asleep. I knew that I was sleeping on the couch and I didn't want to make any noise by finding the extra pillows and blankets, so I just used the throw pillow. During the middle of the night I got cold and put my parka on. When Hass woke up in the morning, she threw the extra pillows and blankets at me and said 'What the heck?!' I felt dumb, but it was funny."
Boo: "What was it like having the best roommates ever?"
JP: "Definitely very interesting... In a good way."
Wow, what a lucky freshman! She got the best roommates on her very first trip!
Overall, the road to Kajikawa was filled with plenty of laughter and great times. Mikey (Coach A's baby) was able to travel with us and we all had such a blast playing with him, making him laugh, and handing him over to Coach A whenever he needed a diaper change. The weather was pretty nice as well. It wasn't blazing hot like I was expecting - for some reason, no matter what time of the year it is, I always associate Arizona with unbearable heat. It proved to actually be pretty cold! Leah White and I rummaged through our bags for an extra pair of long sleeves!
The first travel experience always proves to be a little hectic, but we all managed to make it through the weekend unscathed.
Be sure to follow Stanford Softball on twitter (@StanfordSball) for more updates, games results, and fun pictures. Seriously, it's worth it!
Inspirational Quote of the Week: "There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." -Beverly Sills
Standout Teammate of the Week: Kelsey Stevens. She did an excellent job pitching her first in-season games.
PEACE!
Boo
(Boo Radley - as Coach likes to say. To Kill a Mockingbird anyone?)
Past Blogs
February 4