Angela Johnson's NCAA Regional Diary: Day Five
5/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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Day 5: May 22
Today was a loooooong day. It all started when we went to a local bagel shop this morning near our hotel. We were all awake, confident, and ready to play. We left the hotel at 11:30 to up with the UCLA Bruins for a 1:00 battle. And, it was all caught on tape.
There was not a doubtful look in anyone’s eyes and we all had complete confidence in one another to stomp the Bruins no matter how many runs it would take. Ashley Courtney got things going with a leadoff double and she picked up two of the three hits in the game. Jen Wright and Stephanie (VanBrakle) pitched a great game with a combined effort, going nine innings and holding the Bruins to two runs until the bottom of the ninth.
The entire game was intense and we were all mentally and physically involved with every pitch. From the dugout to the field, we never stopped cheering and never let our intensity fade. We ended up sitting on our two runs, falling short a couple of key hits, but I believe that we proved that we are very capable of playing with and beating one of the softball empires of the West. This game consisted of a whole lot of heart on our part and we made it clear that we are here to fight for the ticket to the World Series.
Following the game, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the hotel to relax before our game.
Tonight we played Long Beach State and pulled through with a 7-6 victory. They came out in the first inning hacking away and scored four runs right away. We threw all of our pitchers and we saw all of their pitchers. Long Beach’s last pitcher had an impressive change-up that threw a few of us off, but luckily we had scored seven runs and held them to six.
Everybody hit the ball solid tonight and we put ten hits on the board. Ashley Courtney’s three-run home run broke the tie, bringing us to our seven run final score. Also, freshman Mandy Burford took advantage of her opportunity in the lineup tonight. She had a sacrifice bunt and a hit up the middle. Everyone pulled hits together to score the runs that we needed. All I knew was tonight was not going to be the last night for us seniors to wear our Bama jerseys, and tomorrow will not be either.
I am so proud of our regional performance. Despite our rollercoaster season, we are really pulling together to earn the respect and success that we deserve. We are all so excited and ready to play tomorrow. We have 14 innings left and our main focus is to win every inning.
Well, we got home pretty late and we all look forward to sleeping in a little bit tomorrow. But I am sure that everyone one of us will be awake long before our alarm clocks go off. It is almost game time and our biological clocks know that.
Good night, Roll Tide and God Bless Alabama Softball!!
-AJ-
Celebrity Sighting List
Linda Gray (Sue Ellen Ewing – Dallas)
Andy Dick
Barry Manilow
Ashley (Fresh Prince of Bel Air)
