Inside Pitch With LC: WCWS Edition (Day Six)
6/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 1, 2015
Junior catcher Lauren Connell will be blogging throughout the softball season to let Michigan fans in on what happens outside of the field of play. This week she takes "The Inside Pitch with LC" on the road to Oklahoma City for a daily blog at the Women's College World Series.
WCWS Day Six (Sunday, May 31)
We knew going into Sunday's Women's College World Series semifinal game that it would not be easy. As we sat up on a hill watching the game before ours, we realized that getting into the national championship game was not just a battle -- it was a full-fledged war. We watched Florida scrape and claw its way past Auburn in a nine-inning long duel and saw how much heart and fire each team brought in an attempt to send the other one home. We glanced across the ballpark and found that LSU looked at us like we looked at them: another team in the way of our mission to win a national championship.
Similar to our game against UCLA, the game began in favor of the opponent. After the Tigers took an early lead during the first few innings, the uninformed viewer may have thought that the Wolverines were done for. Hutch's "one-pitch focus" mantra was the key our comeback as we slowly battled our way back to surpass and defeat LSU. This one-pitch focus was a full team effort, too. A Sierra Romero home run. Singles by Lindsay Montemarano, Tera Blanco and Abby Ramirez to load the bases for a Sierra Lawrence double. Nikki Wald and Olivia Richvalsky coming off the bench to pinch run and score. Haylie Wagner coming in for several innings of relief pitching. The dugout staying loud and supportive. There was never a doubt in any player's mind that we could not rally to overcome the run deficit. We believed in our team and knew that we would pick each other up, because that is what a team does.
The parents and fans in attendance picked us up as well. During lulls in the dugout, our fans were always there at our backs to cheer us on and provide us with more energy. A great friend of Michigan softball, Ruth Crowe, and our director of operations Erin McLaughlin led the parent section in cheers and chants such as "We want that run!" to help our Wolverines gain some momentum against LSU. With all 20 members of our roster, along with our coaches, staff and fans unified toward the common goal of defeating the Tigers, we were able to secure our spot in the national championship game. We will need all the support we can get at 7 p.m. CT Monday night (June 1) as we prepare our Wolverine army to battle against the Florida Gators. With the stakes even higher, we expect that this game will be even more difficult than the last -- and that does not scare us at all. It excites us.
Go Blue!
LC
