Georgia On Our Minds

I am writing this blog as our bus approaches its last couple of hours on the road before we finally arrive in Savannah, Georgia for the next 6 games on our schedule. It’s been a busy week for MNU Softball, despite having 4 games cancelled because of rain. When we finally did get to take the field on Thursday, it truly felt like we were starting our season up all over again. We traveled to Lindsborg for a non-conference double header against Bethany, and while we may have come away with two wins (or “dubs” as Salty would say), our team as a whole grew up a little that night. Despite us having a convincing 5-0 lead late in the game, Bethany slowly came back and tied the game in their last at bats to force extra innings. For the first time this season, our defense was tested. Yes, we struggled against St. Mary’s and Peru State earlier, but not like this. Errors meant losing the game this time around. Luckily we were able to get out of two big jams, turning an inning-ending double play in the bottom of the 8th, and another to end the game in the 9th. An entirely different team showed up in the second game as we finished things early with an 8-0 run-rule in 6 innings. A long bus ride home put us back on campus at 1:30 Friday morning, and with little time to prepare for our triple header at Oklahoma Wesleyan Saturday in Bartlesville.

As good as it felt to cross the Oklahoma state line and pull up to the same fields I remember playing on from the time I was ten years old, I personally came into our 3-game matchup with OWU extremely worried. Any athlete competing in a team sport will admit that it is very hard to beat a team three times, especially when those three times come consecutively. I learned that they had beaten #10 Oklahoma City University earlier in the week, so of course, I knew they wouldn’t just be a push-over. I was happy to see us score quickly in the first game, and then produce big plays on defense to stop any momentum OWU was beginning to have. While we may have won Game 1 pretty easily (9-0) in 5 innings, Game 2 was yet another mental test for us.

After spotting them a couple runs in the first inning, it seemed to take our bats forever to get going. Jen helped us by hitting a solo homerun early in the game, but we found ourselves losing 3-1 in the top half of the 6th inning. TG led us off with a double, followed by another Jen Costa homerun to tie the game. Salty followed my single with a homerun as well, putting us up by 2 late in the game. Our offenses continued to score in our half of the 7th, and we were blessed to come away with our 10th straight win of the season. The final game was fortunately very much like Game 1 on both sides of the ball. Thanks to three homeruns by Jen, TG, and True, and strong pitching from TG, Gale, and Jess, we took the third game in 5 innings as well.

Immediately after playing our 3 games in Oklahoma, we were provided with an opportunity to shower in the female athletic locker rooms on campus before venturing east for the night…and well into the following day. It’s been hard staying entertained and finding comfortable sleeping positions, and even harder waiting to finally arrive in Savannah at our condos on the beach. I don’t know what this team would be like if technology did not exist. Our iPods have been our saving grace, and DVDs are the only things keeping us from going crazy. We know the trip will be well-worth the wait, though. Seeing the beach and feeling the gorgeous weather that Kansas has been lacking as of late will be a huge sigh of relief for all the players and coaches. I am so excited to get there, take the field, and pick up right where we left off in Oklahoma.

As MNU Softball currently sits at #21 in the NAIA, with a seemingly impressive 11-0 record, everyone knows that our season truly begins once we start facing conference opponents. While we may be the favorites of the HAAC this season, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the favorite usually doesn’t end up on top in the end. We want to change that. Last season was our year to shock people—and we did. Never did we have a thing to lose when we played Evangel, Lindenwood, Central Methodist, or MO Valley. We weren’t supposed to win. This year, the roles are completely reversed. Everyone wants to beat MNU. Hopefully playing these tougher opponents in Georgia (SCAD, Savannah State, and Armstrong Atlantic) will help us come home to Olathe and prepare for the most important twenty games of our season. I'll try my hardest to keep this updated throughout the next few days as we represent MidAmerica down South.

Thanks for the support! Go Pioneers!

Love Always,
Taylor #21