The Inside Pitch with LC: What the WCWS Means to Us

May 31, 2016

Senior catcher Lauren Connell will be blogging throughout the softball season to let Michigan fans in on what happens outside of the field of play. Check back to MGoBlue.com each Monday to read "The Inside Pitch with LC."

This past weekend's thrilling NCAA Super Regional win against Missouri brought with it a true whirlwind of emotions for the players, coaches, staff and fans of Michigan softball. The clinching of the super regional title signified that Team 39 had earned its ticket to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. After having a day to process Sunday's crazy victory, here are eight things that clinching a spot in the Women's College World Series means to us.

1. We are one of just eight teams in the entire country that are still playing.This is the time of year when every game could be our last, and we are simply trying to play for the opportunity to have another game in our season. Only eight teams in the country GET to have practice on Wednesday ... and we GET to run cone sprints for yet another week!! Not a lot of teams get to play into the month of June, and it truly is a huge honor and achievement to have extended our season this far.

2. All of our hard work has paid off.All of the rope slams, the tire flips, the grueling 4 a.m. pool workout with a former Navy SEAL and every single foul pole that we ran helped to earn us a spot in the WCWS. In September when we were running the conditioning test, postseason seemed like a far-off future. Now that postseason is here, we know that we are as physically prepared as possible because of our "one more" mentality in the offseason, even when there was snow on the ground and six months before the start of season.

3. We are part of an elite group of teams that get to travel to Oklahoma City.This week at the WCWS, the University of Michigan's name is among a very special and respected group of teams that have a rich tradition of success. The nation's best softball players will be playing in Oklahoma City this weekend, and we are extremely proud to say that 24 of those players will be representing the maize and blue block M.

4. All of the things Hutch told us for the past year came true.Why is she always right?  *Sigh*  Hutch has always told us that the toughest teams come out on top. She told us to believe and trust each other. She told us that when the other team throws a punch, we need to throw a punch back (figuratively of course). She told us to have fun and not worry about the outcome. This past weekend against Missouri, we internalized and exemplified all of the lessons and teaching points that Hutch has been telling us all year -- and the result was nothing short of spectacular. I guess you can say that she told us so ...

5. Anything can happen.In the Women's College World Series, records do not matter. Rankings do not matter. Batting averages do not matter. The only thing that matters is which team battles the hardest. It is truly a thrilling time of year for everyone both participating and watching, because the national championship title is up for grabs like the last open seat in a game of musical chairs. Our goal all year was to make it to the Women's College World Series, and when the music stops, we could be holding a national championship trophy.

6. Our team of 24 girls gets to take on Oklahoma City.Team 39 has earned an extra week of singing, dancing and having fun -- and we get to do it all in Oklahoma City! We are grateful to have more time together on the field, but we are also just as excited to have time left together off the field as well. Michigan softball is truly a family, and our group of silly girls will head on one last trip together to Women's College World Series. What more could we want?

7. Our dreams have become a reality.Since we were young children, we have all dreamed of playing in the Women's College World Series. We talked about how someday we would be playing on ESPN while practicing with our 12U teams. We would close our eyes at night after getting tucked in, thinking about what it would be like to play in front of thousands of fans on the biggest stage of college softball. This week, we will literally be living our dream as we step foot on ASA Hall of Fame Stadium's field as millions of people watch. The coaches post a collage of all of our childhood softball pictures in the dugout for every game, and this week we will without a doubt be playing for the little 6-year-old girl in each and every one of us that dreamt so ridiculously big to someday play in the Women's College World Series.

8. The Michigan softball community has come together to do something incredible.It takes something special to get a team to Oklahoma City. No team goes to the WCWS on talent alone. Team 39 has been incredibly lucky to have such an amazing community surrounding us -- the players, the coaches, the support staff, and most importantly, the fans. Alumni Field was bleeding maize and blue this past weekend as we all rallied through every single pitch together to earn a spot in the Women's College World Series. On Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CDT, we are not just taking on Louisiana State with our nine players on the field; we are going to battle against the Tigers with our giant army of the thousands of Michigan softball fans that all have the same common goal -- for the Wolverines to be the last team standing. Fire up.

Go Blue!

LC

Source: The Inside Pitch with LC: What the WCWS Means to Us