With eight games left in the regular season, and a team that started with 21 down to 18 (six of them being pitchers), the end of the season is approaching. We realized that we are all we have and how far we can go in post-season is on us and if we can come together. Moving the line-up and defense around due to the recent departure was another obstacle we had to tackle, along with our starting left-fielder being out with a concussion. But, we still have faith. Win the last eight games and we could host a regional. And who would have thought that this team, with all the ups and downs we have had, would be able to host a regional. Like I said, we have to win the last eight games, though.

The bus ride to Rome, Ga. was just like any other, except it was very wet. It rained the whole way up. Rain is never good for softball, especially if the field isn’t tarped the night before to keep the rain off the clay. So, the weekend we need to play, that can give us three easy wins, gets washed out. Instead of playing, we spent the weekend at the mall and were able to get back to Valdosta in time to go home for Easter. That was the main upside of the weekend.

Unable to play those three games spoiled our true chances of hosting a regional, so we’ll have to travel for both conference and regionals. At the end of the day, we’re just ecstatic to go to a regional after the season we have had.

The new national rankings had just came out. We are ranked number 19 in the country. It’s not where we thought we’d be; at the beginning of the season we expected higher. But as of the past month, we didn’t even think we would get ranked. Yet, here we are, 19th. We are down girls, and any more teammates that quit, or get hurt, could seriously hurt the season.

Practice throughout the week went as usual, until Friday. On Friday, an injury occurs. As a matter of fact, the injury was to myself. Taking a line drive to the ankle off of the bat of one of our biggest power hitters can seriously mess up you’re ability to walk. Now we are down to 17, six of them being pitchers. And just when we think our luck can’t get any worse, Saturday morning, gameday, rolls around. One of our pitchers is as sick as a dog. Can our luck get any worse?

Thankfully, the three games went great. Winning all three of them definitely helped us in the rankings and almost guaranteed us a spot in the post-season. But for some reason, it still wasn’t good enough for coach. We did not get an off day the next day, but the baseball team did. Our only day that we would get off is the one that he is forced to give us off, Easter. A national holiday. And to make it worse, practice was very hard, and Coach was finding something wrong in everything that we did. That causes for girls to get annoyed quickly and have bad attitudes throughout the entire practice. Making it drag on for what feels like longer than three hours.

The thought of an upward swing was beginning to feel like we could actually make a strong post-season run. But, with this team, it never fails that something will go wrong. And when the starting third baseman quits unexpectedly, it sends the entire team and coaching staff into a worry.

The next Monday rolls around, no off day this Monday, we play on Tuesday. The team begins to slowly come into the locker room, myself included. And you could see it the second you walked through the door, an empty locker. Someone quit. I was so confused. Why would someone quit in the middle of the season like this? There’s only like a month left and the conference tournament is as well. And to top it all off, it’s a pitcher who quit. A pitcher who gets more pitching time than half of the pitching staff. So, as expected, this left everyone so confused.

To add onto the mess this became, our starting first baseman is sick. And not the common cold type of sick, like so sick she can’t get out of bed. So now, we are down our top relief pitcher and our power hitting first baseman. It just seemed as though the season was beginning to crumble, right before our eyes. But, we had to keep trudging on. We can’t stop working and fighting to win.

The games on Tuesday went smoothly. Two wins. But that didn’t stop yet another girl quitting the team. That’s right. Two girls in a span of three days have quit the team. This time it was a back-up third baseman, but still a member of the team none the least. All this chaos led to teammates joking around and making bets on who is going to quit next. But behind the jokes was worry within the team. Girls are quitting left and right.

After winning two of three over the weekend, even without our first baseman, a sigh of relief came. We moved up in the conference rankings and had a better chance of making the post-season. Now if we could just get coach to take a breather as well, maybe the team would play a little better and more relaxed.

New week, new opportunities. That’s how we looked at the upcoming challenge. A midweek game on Thursday (should be a breeze), and another conference series, this weekend against University of Auburn at Montgomery. A team that’s ranked ahead of us in the conference standings. Winning the series could do a lot for us, help us be higher than the eighth seed. Maybe Coach wouldn’t worry as much and we could relax a little.

With the midweek game going as expected, two easy wins, our spirits rise a little. But when we thought of the weekend upcoming in the next few days, the worry and tension in the locker room was beginning to build. Some girls are openly showing that they don’t care whether the team wins or not; others working hard everyday to make sure they can be successful in hopes it will help the team. And of course, nothing is worse than girls. A group of girls will always find a way to cause drama, talk bad about each other behind their backs, and just be mean.

The weekend was, what a true Blazer fan would call, a disappointment. We only won one of the three games. Our post-season hopes were slowly fading away and the “fight” in most of the team has gone away. How could a team that was so good, go bad so quickly? And with only four weekends left in the season, we would almost have to win every game left in the season to have a chance of making the conference tournament. Can we do it? YES. This is a team that was almost untouchable at the beginning of the year. But, it’s not going to be easy.

Understanding what’s expected of a student athlete can be hard for a NARP (Non-Athletic Regular Person) to understand. Each sports team has different expectations, requirements, and such that make their lives hectic. Well, being on the softball team, and playing for our coach is no different. Coach Macera is a man of high expectations, conference and regional championships every year and possibly a National title. It’s a standard. But, it becomes hard when things happen on the team that makes everyone’s drive diminish.

Practices are a long, hard four hours. And they typically don’t start until 5 o’clock in the afternoon; on Wednesdays we don’t start until 6:30 P.M. So do the counting, we don’t get out until late at night. Those lead for long days, that a few days a week begin at 5:30 P.M., rushing to get dressed and drive to the weight room to begin lifting at six. Then classes all day and trying to find time to study and eat (and nap). Also, remember what I said about expectations, extra hitting and ground balls, if you’re a pitcher, pitching extra before practice daily are all things that must be done daily as well. But, if you want to be a successful athlete, this is what it takes.

Being on the team is great. Feeling like you’re a part of something very special. I’m Ashley Biddle. I’m, as you could guess, on the softball team at Valdosta State. I’ve played since I was eight. And getting my offer to play at VSU after deciding to transfer from my first school was almost a dream. Many people don’t get to play college sports, so I like to say I am blessed to play the sport I love beyond what most people do. But that’s enough about me, what’s important is the team.

The beginning of the season started out as amazing as any team could ask for. We traveled to Gulf Shores, Alabama and played the then number three ranked team in the country and won. I hit my first homerun and started. We went 4-0 on the weekend. We felt untouchable. Then the next weekend came. We played in Clearwater, Florida, at another tournament. Played even better teams. The number 2,18, and 19 ranked teams. Beat them too. We started the season 8-1 after just two weekends. Believe me when I say we felt untouchable.

Conference play began after that, with a few midweek games in between. Winning a lot at the start of that, winning 2 of 3 at Lee, sweeping Union at home. But, it’s safe to say that was our last good conference weekend for a past few weeks. We traveled to Mississippi College where we lost both games, one of those going to 10 innings. Then we hosted the now number two team in the country, West Florida. We lost the series, only winning one game, via walk-off fashion. It’s safe to say the coaches weren’t very happy with us. We are ranked number nine. How are we losing all these games? Many long team meetings followed. Many questions that we just simply didn’t have answers to. So where do we go from here?

Going into the 10th ranked Alabama-Huntsville, we were very optimistic. Thinking maybe something is off with the team chemistry, maybe that’s why we stopped winning. Maybe lack of motivation. We are tired, but at the beginning of the year we were so good. I’d put us against any Power 5 Division 1 school in the country. Why would we not want to play like that all the time. Winning like that felt awesome. But after losing 2 of 3 to them as well, falling to 8th in the conference standings, where do we go from here? We have to find a way to turn the season around if we even want a chance at the conference championship, forget the national championship.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton