A Stanford softball student-athlete has written a weekly blog in each of the past four seasons to provide fans a behind-the-scenes perspective of the team. This year, sophomore Lauren Frost is taking over the Softblog to chronicle the team's adventures throughout the season. Her fourth entry this year is below.
***We meet again Stanford softball fans!
Another successful weekend is in the books as we pulled out three more wins during our time at the Mary Nutter Classic!
Though the weather was colder than we expected in the usually warm and sunny Palm Springs, the environment was a blast and the softball even better.
Now that we are a few weeks into the season we've really started to gain a grasp for what we're made of and how we operate as a team.
Our play was scrappy and unconventional this weekend as we saw everything from battling with the No. 1 team in the nation, throwing out back-to-back runners at the plate in one play, gunning runners at first base from the outfield and even getting pretty wild in the dugout.
Despite some of the games running long they for sure never lacked in excitement.
Excitement off the field, however, was lacking this weekend as the majority of our free time was spent PSETing (math), essay writing and of course, studying for those always lovely Week Eight and Week Nine midterms.
With the majority of our games happening in the evening this weekend, I thought I'd give you some insight into our lives on game day.
Here's a day in the life of a late-night softball doubleheader:
As you would guess, the day starts off with the most important meal of the day – breakfast.
With hotel breakfast ending at 9:00am and the thought of homework already looming in your head, you decide with your roommate the night before that you'll be extra responsible and wake up at 7:15 a.m., have a nice breakfast at 7:30, then spend the rest of your morning doing homework.
Though great in theory, if you're anything like me and my roommate, your five alarms unfortunately won't be enough and you'll finding yourself respectfully speed walking your way to breakfast at 8:45 a.m.
But hey, it's the thought that counts.
Luckily for us, not everyone on the team functions this way and we were able to capture an early morning gem that shows the true beauty of a morning in Palm Springs.
Now that you've eaten it's actually time to get some work done. After a few hours of typing and punching away on your calculator you realize you're going to need an extra boost before you depart for the field.
This is where our team's ritualistic coffee run comes into play.
(We take these runs very seriously on our team.)
Now that you're reenergized it's time to do a few more problems on that PSET, then get ready to board the bus for 3:15 p.m. departure!
When on the bus, you have to get hyped, and the best way to do that is to share with the world how fresh you look in your new uniforms with a quick selfie.
Once you get to the field you're ready to go and your game face is on. You hit, you mobilize, you stretch, run, and throw and, most importantly, eat some snacks (gotta stay fueled).
In tournament-style play like Mary Nutter there can often be a back-up in games causing your own game's start time to be delayed, allowing for some down time post warmup. This time is always enjoyable since you can spend it getting hyped with your favorite Carl.
... learning some new hand-eye drills that are far more enjoyable than the traditional ones …
Extra warmup activity for @Frostylf and @kianapancino. #GoStanford ?? pic.twitter.com/old9iRZXnE
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) February 26, 2017
… or even just watching the end of the game in front of you. Regardless of what you choose, it's always a good time.
The previous game is over and it's finally game time! You lace up your cleats and head out to dominate.
After seven innings go by with your team and you come out victorious on the other side it's time to grab some pretzel sticks and a PB&J, take a load off, and get ready to do it all over again for game two.
After dominating yet again you finally take off your cleats, put your slides back on and head out to give your parents a quick hug before heading to the bus.
You look at your phone and see the time. "11:15 p.m.?!" Nearly 8 hours have been spent at the field, but the shock fades away as you remember that you wouldn't want it any other way.
You load the bus with a smile on your face, drop into your seat, and if you're anything like me, you're out like a light, fueling up on sleep to do it all again tomorrow.
Our schedules are busy but we wouldn't want it any other way! Come watch us continue this hectic lifestyle as we travel down to Alabama this weekend to take on the Easton Crimson Classic.
As always we can't thank you all enough for your endless support and can't wait to see you in Alabama!
Until next time,
Frosty