Who Wants It More?

I just got back from a team dinner at Lester's: a seafood place not too far from our hotel. The hospitality was unbelievably great, and the food was even better. The team enjoyed crab legs, buffalo wings, burgers, and pasta. TG probably had the most satisfying (and most expensive) meal of the evening--lobster tail. Everyone gave her a hard time about ordering something that was almost twice the amount of our individual spending limits, but I think it was worth the great food. T, if you're reading this: I would have done the same thing...if I liked seafood, of course ;)

But anyway...

It felt so amazing to watch my teammates come back this afternoon after a devastating loss yesterday. Our game against SUNY-Canton proved how resilient MNU Softball has been all season. Coach Babs prepared us well for the pitching style we had to face, and the scouting we did yesterday worked out perfectly in the game today. A win at Nationals is always nice, but a run-rule is even better. This team has so much momentum going into tomorrow's match-up against #1 Cal. Baptist. Not to mention, the entire NAIA will be joining Pioneer Nation...at least for a few hours, anyway. I am so excited to know that we still have a chance to compete in the Elite Eight. While most teams look at a road like ours and say, "We're done," we are focusing so heavily on what we need to do to shock the country. Something that helps me stay positive and focused on our game tomorrow is knowing that there truly is nothing special about Cal. Baptist. In defense of the aforementioned statement, what I mean is that each player on that team puts on her uniform the same way every player on our team does. They buy their bats from the same companies we do. They cry, they laugh, they bleed, just like us. However, they want to win just as badly as we do. Tomorrow will determine which team is capable of making the fewest mistakes. A record of 61-3 cannot be underestimated, but neither can a 39-11 one. People may have already counted us out. I'm sure there are more odds stacked against us than there are for us. But none of that matters. It never has. This team thrives when no one expects us to perform. Do I even need to remind anyone of the HAAC tournament? One hit, one error, one extra base, one bad call...any of those can change the entire outcome of a ball game. I have never believed in this team more than I do in this exact moment. Come tomorrow evening, at 6:00 PM to be precise, we will find out which team really does want to win more.

Thank you for your continued support of MNU Softball. Go, Go, MNU!!

Love Always,
Taylor #21