Louisville Sluggers

On Saturday May 12 the Flagler Saints softball team did something that had never been done before–they defeated 3 -time defending Southeast Super Regional champs North Georgia to advance to their first ever Division II Softball World Series. One of the Saints senior leaders also happens to be the Peach Blog’s very own Lauren Ely, who has blogged for us throughout the year. Lauren will also be blogging about her trip to Louisville for the DII Championships Festival and Flagler’s shot at winning a National Championship. Here is Lauren’s first report from Louisville:

Lauren Ely

What a day!

We just got back from an amazing dinner at Churchill Downs for the opening ceremony of the 2012 National Championships Festival. The ceremony gave us a chance to explore the grounds where the infamous Kentucky Derby is held and relit the fire we felt on Saturday to continue winning. 

This morning we left Georgia bright and early at 4 a.m.  We flew out of Atlanta to Charlotte, from Charlotte to Cincinnati and drove on a bus in to Louisville before the opening ceremony. 

Our team is excited and thankful to have the opportunity to compete for a national championship.  After going through an end of the season slump and losing seven games in a row, we thought our season might come to an early end.  We have talked several times about how we were truly given a second chance when we narrowly qualified as the last seed in the region rankings. 

We slammed the door on our slump and have finally begun playing like the team we knew we could be all season.  Our three-game series against North Georgia showed the heart our team possesses and that we have the ability to beat anyone, underdog or not. 

Tomorrow we will get a chance to mingle more with the other student-athletes from golf, tennis and lacrosse, and we will have some time to practice and hopefully see more of the city.  Goodnight!

Click here to follow all the action from the DII Championships Festival.

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Reality Sets In

The Lander Bearcats advanced to their first ever NCAA Elite Eight after downing Wingate in the Southeast Region Final. Unfortunately their season ended with a defeat to Rollins College. Senior Rachelle Rasley graciously volunteered to blog about the experience.

Rachelle Rasley

Rollins was a great team but we truly felt we were the better team. We had prepared as best we could but the ball just didn’t seem to bounce our way Tuesday night. Coach Pederson told us that it was disappointing that we couldn’t show everyone who doubted us what Lander was truly about. We played our hearts out but we all agreed we didn’t show the nation who we were and how we really played. We walked sulking to the locker room and we sat there in silence. I felt my heart sink. I looked around at all of my fellow teammates that I have had the privilege to play with over my last two years of college and the tears began to roll. I have never felt more part of a family than I have here at Lander. Each of these girls truly care about every player on this team.

My role in particular on this team was not the one who took the game winning shot or the one who set school records with points or steals. I was a vocal leader. I had an interesting perspective sitting the remainder of the season on the bench. With my background and view of the game I was able to help my teammates during games and was the one to pick them up during the roller coaster ride of runs during the games. I was always asked why I ran extra or got extra shots up if I didn’t really play. My response was that I have to perform at a high level to make the team better and push the starters. If they aren’t pushed in practice WE don’t get better as a TEAM. Yes there were times when I felt like giving up and not coming in to work out extra but I kept telling myself that win or lose, playing or sitting the bench, if my name was called, I would know deep inside that I had did everything in my power to make sure I was ready. That is something I want to reiterate to anyone out there reading this because as coach Pederson always says, “stay ready.”

My teammates always made me feel apart of the team no matter how much I played and emphasized that every puzzle piece to this team was needed for the ultimate goal of winning a championship. We never let anyone in our “wolf pack” lag behind. It was truly an honor to play for Lander University as well as Coach Pederson and Coach Shoemate. They have taught me lessons that I will carry for the rest of my life. I honestly feel like I became a much better person transferring to the good old city of Greenwood, SC.

After a valiant effort Lander was edged by Rollins 66-62 to end their postseason run. Click here for a recap of the game and here for video highlights.

Elite Eight

On March 12th the Lander Bearcats defeated Wingate in a double overtime thriller that clinched their first ever NCAA Southest Region Championship and a trip to the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas. Senior Rachelle Rasley has graciously volunteered to blog about their experience on the road to the Elite Eight.

Rachelle Rasley

There were moments in the region final game that I thought my collegiate career was over. Wingate would not seem to go down without a fight. The game was going point for point in the double overtime competition. Finally, Brittni Johnson, one of our 8 seniors on our measly 9 player roster, sunk the game winning three followed by a pair of free-throws from Jasmine Judge to seal the deal . Words cannot describe how I felt. I probably busted a blood vessel in my neck from screaming so much; we were region champs and heading to the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas. Never have I ever been this far in competition in my college career. I came to Lander from Division I North Florida and we fell just short of the NCAA tournament and a chance to play UConn in a heartbreaking loss, but to say I have the opportunity to play for a national championship eclipses everything else.

The Bearcats are participating in their first ever Elite Eight.

The morning of the flight to San Antonio the girls were a little nervous. Needless to say this was the first time some of them had been on a plane. Upon reaching San Antonio, we were excited to find out we were staying at this amazing Hyatt hotel. We were within walking distance of the Alamo and the mall so it was a win-win situation for everyone. After sightseeing and a little bit of shopping it was back to business. We went to an elementary school down in the inner city and were able to talk to the kids about the importance of the state test they were taking the next week. It was such a great experience to go up and speak in front of these children as this will be something they remember for a long time. After that we headed to St. Mary’s University for our 55 minutes of practice time that we are allowed. We went extremely hard. Coach wanted to send a message to us, not the people that were watching the open practice, that we came here for a reason. We meant business. I overheard a couple NCAA representatives saying no one practice harder than us that day. That’s what we were going for because as it is said “failing to prepare is like preparing to fail.”

The Bearcats speaking to a local San Antonio elementary school.

Later that night we attended the NCAA Elite Eight banquet at Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. It was a beautiful place but we laughed as we found out that we were only given two tables to fit everyone on our team while every other team had three or four. This didn’t surprise us though. Also the fact that Lander only had four clips on the highlight reel while the other teams had numerous didn’t surprise us either. To top it off, we were told to wear our travel warm-ups and when we got there, everyone else was completely dressed up. We didn’t care however, we wore our warm-ups with pride and squeezing our nine players at one table and all dressed alike made us look even more like a team.

Coach had also stressed the word “sacrifice” all season. What were we going to sacrifice to win. We all gave up our phones as sacrifice and haven’t had them for practically two weeks now. Sitting around the table together and talking made a huge difference. All the other teams at their tables were engulfed in their phones texting and listening to music during the banquet. The togetherness we developed brought us to call ourselves, jokingly, the “wolf pack”. Our small team with only nine players is going to stay together as a wolf pack and accomplish something no one thought we could. The first game is against Rollins College and this wolf pack is going to do everything in its power to make it to the Final Four. People shouldn’t doubt teams that come out of the Peach Belt Conference because we come to play!

Preview tonight’s Elite Eight contest between Lander and Rollins here. You can watch the game live on NCAA.com here (tip off is at 9:30pm).

Painting pros and bowling aces: a weekend with Flagler Softball

By Lauren Ely

This past weekend was our fourth year participating with Habitat for Humanity.  All of Flagler’s Athletic teams are required in their off-season to spend one day with the non-profit.  In year’s past we have built frames and windows on houses and laid sod.  This year, things got a little bit more interesting, and I learned one thing: don’t give Flagler Softball paint.

Our team has four four-year seniors: Kaycee Lisa, Cheslea Welch, Kristen Chapman and I.  While seniority has never played a huge role on our team, Coach O decided that the four-year seniors did not have to participate in Habitat this year because they only needed a group of 15.  The rest of the team drove out to the site in Hastings, Fla., at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday to begin painting a house, and I was there (a little later) to capture some of their work.  Of course, with work always comes a little bit of play.

We also have a Thanksgiving party before we leave for Thanksgiving break.  Normally, we meet at coach’s house and everyone brings a dish to contribute to our Thanksgiving meal.  However, not everyone on our team eats the typical mashed potatoes, stuffing and turkey that you associate with the holiday.  In past years we’ve had plantains, stuffed peppers and Snickers salad (Snickers candy bar, cool whip and apples). 

This year, Coach O and Coach Boatner surprised us with a party at the bowling alley.  What started as a day of “normal” bowling, quickly turned into quite a show. 

That concludes our fall season.  I think we learned that painting and bowling are not our forte.  (I’ll just stick to playing softball)).  When we return from Thanksgiving break, the softball portion of our fall season will be over, and all that is left between season is a week of class, finals and Christmas break.  I hope you all enjoyed following Flagler Softball the past few months, and I look forward to giving you a peek into our season in the spring. 

Flagler Softball hopes you all had a joyful Thanksgiving, and we wish you happy holidays!

Follow Lauren on Twitter @lauren__ely

The Life of a Baller

By Mia Antoine

The 2011-12 USC Aiken Women's Basketball Squad

With the beginning of a new season, there is always something going on. I think it’s safe to refer to this time as hectic. For example, our first practice was held on a Saturday and not only did we have a two-a-day but we also had our Outback Fundraiser in between the two practices.  On top of this we had Midnight Madness, which is basically a huge pep rally to kick off the basketball season, the following Monday. Midnight Madness is not usually considered stressful, but the team put together a special little surprise that we were going to showcase, and it took some practice to get it right. Don’t worry, all will be explained! Anyway, this is kind of how it all went down.

First Practice of the Season

You walk in the locker room for the thousandth time, but the atmosphere feels just a little bit different today. You’re nervous and a little anxious but still excited to see what’s to come next. Hyperdunks (shoes I highly recommend) are waiting in our lockers, begging to be  taken out of the box, laced up and taken for their first run. Jerseys and shorts are pristinely folded, but will soon be tainted with sweat and yes, sometimes blood. You walk into the gym, finally able to play on the main court. The lights are shining brightly, spotlighting the entire arena, the court, you. New basketballs are taken out of storage, no longer to be hidden and protected from our relentless beatings.  As you warm up and stretch with your teammates, you watch as the clock counts down to zero. The buzzer sounds and your stomach churns one last time as you command it to keep its composure. Your coach calls everyone in for a team huddle, giving final words of encouragement, and marking the offical start of what will hopefully be an amazing and unforgettable season. And so it begins, the first practice.

Outback Fundraiser

After doing drills, learning plays, making some free throws and running for your missed free throws, the first successful practice came to end. Many things were learned and each player got better in some way. No time to waste, we had to quickly get ready for our annual Outback Fundraiser. This fundraiser consists of each player teaming up with an actual Outback Steakhouse server and taking orders and serving customers. Although serving people at Outback is not necessarily an ideal way to recuperate from a hard practice, you can’t help but be excited about it. For one, you no longer have to haggle with people about buying fundraiser tickets that will get them, “The choice of steak or chicken, mashed potatoes or green beans, a salad, and a beverage.” And two, it’s nice to see a community and our fans come together to help support something, and not just something, but our team! So a special thank you to all of the familiar and unfamiliar faces, to the USCA faculty and staff, to our Pacer fans, families, and friends that helped support the women’s basketball program. We couldn’t reach our goals without you!

Midnight Madness

Midnight Madness is an event created to get the school excited about basketball season, and I don’t know if it works for everyone, but I know that it gets me hyped! I know it’s a little misleading because it doesn’t actually start at midnight (sorry if you showed up to an empty gym at midnight) but how would “8 o’clock Madness” sound?? It’s just not the same.

This year’s theme was “Ace Jam”. Ace the Pacer, (our school mascot) was depicted as Michael Jordan, saving grace for the Looney Tunes in the movie Space Jam, and all of our competitors portrayed the bullying Monstars. A little 1990’s but A+ for originality and creativity (all credit goes to the Midnight Madness committee!). Anyway, Midnight Madness is full of games, music, performances by the cheerleaders and dancers, prizes, giveaways, dancing, contests, highlight videos, and team introductions including the dance team, cheerleaders, coaching staff, and men and women’s basketball teams.

Last year, our theme was “Witness”, and we jumped on the LeBron James’ bandwagon with that one, so as a team we decided that when we got introduced we would get in our huddle and throw baby powder in the air. Not to toot my own horn, but it looked pretty awesome.

Witness.

In an attempt to top that this year, the decision was made to do a step routine after we were all introduced.  I was a little bit hesitant about this at first (okay you caught me, I resisted the entire time) because I am not what you would call a performer. You might be thinking, “But Mia, you perform the game of basketball in front a crowd all the time!” And I do, but there is a distinct difference between playing basketball and shakin’ it in front of a crowd! Despite my hesitance, everyone was pretty excited about doing it so I took one for the team.  When it came time for the performance, I WAS SO NERVOUS! Kudos to the dance team and cheerleaders because I could not do this all the time.

We got into our positions, the music was cued, I started the count in my head, “5,6,7,8” and began. It was over before I knew it and honestly it wasn’t that bad! Not saying I didn’t mess up but the crowd couldn’t tell (hopefully) and we were entertaining, so mission accomplished!

Now that our Outback Fundraiser, Midnight Madness, and our crowd-stirring dance are out of the way, it gets serious. Now that it’s all behind us, we can put all of our focus and efforts on reaching our goals. And if you were to ask any one of my teammates, they would all say the same thing. Win a championship.