Jana's Journal
5/13/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 13, 2009
BIG 12 CHAMPIONS!!!
What a weekend for MIZZOU Softball! Winning a championship and finding out we're hosting a regional all within the same day was amazing. I can't even describe how proud I am of my teammates, coaches and staff for all of the hard work they've put in to get us where we are today. Every single person contributed last weekend. We had girls selected to the all-tournament team, a Big 12 Tournament MVP, run-saving plays in the infield, and even reserve players picking Canion's change up so Marla could score the game-winning run against Baylor! All of that, in addition to 12 players (more than any other team in the conference!) being selected to the All-Big 12 Academic squad made the weekend one of the most exciting ones we've had yet! I've always known how much this team could accomplish both on and off the field and the great thing is, we still have a lot more season ahead of us.
Being selected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament has made us want to fight even harder to show what we're capable of, but we're used to playing with a chip on our shoulder. We went into Oklahoma City last weekend as an underdog and came out champions. A year ago, we played at the Iowa City Regional with the same No. 2 seed and traveled to Super Regionals a week later. Although it may seem like an insult to be called "Number 2," we see it as motivation to work that much harder to get to the top. In practice, we talked about living up to our own expectations, not limiting ourselves to the expectations of others. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're more than willing to rise to the challenge.
After a great performance last weekend, we're hoping to use that momentum as we head into Regional play starting at 5 p.m. Friday. This weekend promises to be another exciting one as we start off by playing our very own softball edition of the "Braggin' Rights" game against Illinois. We truly appreciate all of the fan support we've had so far this season and we can't wait to see you there! Go Tigers!
