VARSITY ATHLETICS

March 20, 2008

Ruthe Explains Ups and Downs of Southern Trip...

By Junior Pitcher Ruthe Sagartz - Albuquerque, NM

Almost every team I have ever played for has gotten the speech about “mental toughness”. Sticking with it when nothing goes your way and overcoming adversity. I don’t think you can get much more mentally tough than our team over spring break this year. We started out in Florida winning the first four games. We then proceeded to lose the next seven heartbreakingly. At least three games came down to one pitch that was hit over the fence, and we weren’t the ones doing the hitting.

I absolutely could not be any more proud of my teammates though. Despite each setback, they came out each day and played their hearts out. And it paid off on the last day. Emory is one of the best teams in the country and they had just lost a heartbreaker to Wash U. We saw their pitcher in tears as we warmed up for the game. Our team was starting to get worn down and tired – I knew that I sure was. No matter how hard I tried, my legs didn’t want to move, my ankle was sore, and my arm was tired. I came into that last game without a lot of confidence in what I was going to do and I was simply worn down and frustrated.

We took the field and I hid how tired and unconfident I was behind my sunglasses. The defense behind me couldn’t have been better or more supportive. I knew my defense was behind me all the way. In the words of Svi, “I believe in you, Peter.” Emory’s one and only run happened when there was a girl on third and a there was a pass ball. Chelsae flipped the ball to me and I tagged her for the out, but the umpire saw me tag her hip when I had tagged her feet. We shook it off and went back to playing tough defense. Another bad call came when a hit to the outfield came in to second base. Beth clearly tagged the girl before she reached the base, but it wasn’t what the ump saw. Fortunately, they didn’t score. We managed to rally to put two runs on the board and that was all it took.

We went into the seventh inning with a one run lead and all we needed were three outs. Three times already that week we had lost when we had been in the same situation and I didn’t want it to happen again. On the inside I was shaking like crazy so I put on my sunglasses, glared at the batter, and pitched. Brandeis had come over to cheer for us, and their cheers mingled with the cheers of some of the few parents who had made the trip. The first batter hit a hard grounder to Beth who handled it spectacularly and easily got the out. The second batter of the inning had gotten on every at bat this game. Using two different kinds of change ups, Chelsae and I struck her out to bring up the last hitter. A hard hit to Rice who reached for the line drive and caught it, and it was over. Relief swept through me. I heard the screams of my teammates and I was in a haze.

My teammates are the ones who got me through that game. Each and every one of them played a role in that game that was so important. It takes a lot of courage to come out day after day despite the losses. Wash U and Emory had run ruled us the first time we played each of them, but the second time we proved what we were made of, as we almost beat Wash U and we beat Emory. Our record doesn’t show how amazing our team actually is. To really see how amazing we are, you have to come watch us for yourself.

Posted by: Creg Jantz March 20, 2008 09:44 AM | Category: Softball

Posted by: cnj4 (Creg Jantz) March 20, 2008 09:44 AM | Comments (0) | Trackback