This softball season has been flying by like the blink of an eye so.  I cannot believe that it is April 16 and we are coming up upon a weekend where we have our LAST regular season games.  As a senior, the previous sentence hits home pretty hard.  I have always been the person to laugh while my previous and fellow seniors get emotional about the end of the season, but it is coming back to bite me as I wipe away tears during huddles after games.  These past four years have been the best of my life, and I'm hoping that somehow, someway these next few weeks go as slow as molasses. 

This past week has been somewhat uneventful, and that is a good thing!  Ever since the day we left for spring break in Hawaii the Lady Bald Eagles have been traveling all the time!  We only have 5 home games to begin with, so most of our games are away including our trips to Hawaii, West Virginia, and Salem, VA.  We have only been able to practice about once or twice in the whole month of April because we either had games, we were traveling, or the weather prohibited us from practicing on the field.  It seems like whenever I look around I'm either on an opposing players field or on our bus... a small bus might I add.  The kind of bus that is impossible to get comfortable in.  Anyway, our games have been going very well, we play hard and receive the benefits of working so hard. 

On Monday, April 13 a few of my close friends and I had to make an emotional trip to Newtown, PA to attend the funeral of our close friend.  It was so unfortunate that Mark passed away and we all miss him very much.  Not a day goes by that we don't think about him, and our pitcher Kristin Erb writes his initials, MJR, in the dirt on the mound in the beginning of every inning.  He was a very strong supporter of our team and we dedicate every game from here on out to him.  We know his is watching, and yelling at the umpires when they make a bad call.

This weekend coming up is going to be a very eventful weekend.  We have our annual "Knock MS out Of the Park" game vs. Clarion on Friday at 2:30.  We as a team have tried to raise as much money from the LHU faculty, staff, students, and the Lock Haven community to benefit the National MS Society.  Our team has become very competitive; if you can believe it... to raise the most money for the cause.  We are very excited to see the end result, especially because we are trying to get some major organizations and companies to match what we raise.  It feels great to give back to those who are in need and we are working very hard to do so.

Our senior day is Saturday the 18^th and we play Bloomsburg so the fun and anticipation will be high that day.  Senior day has always been something that someone else goes through, but now that it is me and my 7 fellow seniors turn, it feels a little bizarre.  The tears will be flowing in-between games on Saturday when the seniors and their families are announced and walk to the center of the field, and the tears will mostly be coming from our parents I believe. J  They have been such strong supporters since day one and I'm not sure what they are going to do when they don't have a softball season to look forward to, or a weekend of games that they get to "call off work" for! 

Playoffs are the following week and we have set high standards for our performance in that tournament.  Post season is more like the regular season to our team.  We work for post season and the month of May and this is where we set many of our goals.  I'm hoping that you keep following these articles and come along with us on this exciting, scary, emotional journey of ours. 

Sarah #22