Behind The Scenes at the 2005 NCAA DIII Softball Championships
Behind The Scenes: The 2005 NCAA Division III Softball ChampionshipsSport Marketing Manager Lindsay Carpenter's Insider's Diary
6:41 p.m.
Well, it's over for this season. Know that this team left all of its heart on the field this day. The bounces - of course - seemed to work for anyone other than the Scots. But that's sports, after all.
This team gave me the opportunity to watch them on their sports biggest stage. And I thank them for that.
What a grand group of girls and a superb collection of talent. It hurts now - the tears they cried after this heartbreaking loss telling all the story I could handle. They didn't back down and they didn't stop. This was what we now call their finale and it was a great pleasure to watch them wear the Maroon and Cream with pride and carry on the traditions that all of us as Alma College alum understand.
If you're an alumni of Alma College - know that this team...the coaches, the players, the support staff...they made you proud over the last week, but more importantly throughout the year. If you're one of those who played in Raleigh this week - THANK YOU - you may not realize it now, but this time will never come again.
I'm going home now, back to Alma where I will watch at Scots Park next year as another regional championship banner hangs in the outfield and I'll always know that this team will be champions forever.
After all, tradition never graduates.
3:26 p.m.
They won! They won! They won!
Not that I was nervous or anything...but I still haven't packed for a return trip home and don't think our team has either.
It was like a totally different team showed up today and boy, were they fun to watch.
Bob and Priscilla Perkins who both worked at the College until about three years ago (Priscilla was the Faculty Athletic Representative in addition to a variety of other duties) when they moved to North Carolina came to the game to cheer on the Scots! I think they live about three hours away from Raleigh, but we were glad to see them at the game!!
We beat Williams College 1-0 to move on and play tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. Williams College's mascot is an Eph, which is apparently a purple cow.
Last night we went to Glenwood Avenue, which has a lot of restaurants and nightlife. We ate dinner at a place called Hi 5 - they had pretty good cheeseburgers - and sort of took in the city of Raleigh. There were some great shops downtown that I'm hoping to hit up today. I heard a rumor that there is an art fair-type event going on about a block from the Sheraton. We shall see what happens with that!
The girls were still at the field when we left, making orders of Subway and talking about studying the rest of the day away.
I'm going to wrap things up here and try to enjoy a bit of the warm, sunny weather outside.
Stay tuned - there's bound to be more from Raleigh! I've put some more photos from yesterday's game up, courtesy of Sara Reid of The Morning Sun. Enjoy - I should have more photos from today's game later - I'll put those on the recap of the game!
1:08 p.m.
Ellen and I had a breakfast of Starbucks - again! Our hotel is great and has everything we could possibly need right there.
We got to the field about an hour ago and watched the team warm-up and watched St. Thomas beat Williams 5-2.
The weather, which we thought would be a bit cooler with intermittent downpours, has proven to be warm and sunny. I did not dress appropriately at all and will not be wearing pants again the rest of the weekend.
The game will start in 20 minutes and Alma will be taking the field for infield warm-up in about 7 minutes.
See you after the game!
4:36 p.m.
Just back to the hotel to do some website updating. The girls played hard, but lost 3-0 to Salisbury. The officials were seemingly tough for the team to get a read on - but ultimately only four hits and just six baserunners was not enough to get the job done.
The national championship has been great so far. This is the best of the best, and it shows.
Sitting in the stands at the game Ellen and I sat next to the Williams Ephs - their mascot is a purple cow! - and the girls next to me - starting position players for Williams - sat doing their physics homework and studying for exams while scouting the Alma vs. Salisbury matchup. Only in Division III have I seen anything quite like that!
Well, it's an early work day for me - maybe we'll see a movie or just go grab a real meal for the first time in days. We will play Williams tomorrow at 11 a.m. back at the Walnut Creek Softball Complex in Raleigh.
Thursday. May 19, 2005
Well, we got just a bit of a later start than we had planned. By 8:15 we were on the road to Raleigh, N.C. to find our softball team. After a breakfast of Starbucks, we hopped back in the car. Midway through the day, we got word from Aaron Brock, Associate Athletic Director, that the bus carrying our softball team broke down en route to Raleigh. But not to worry, another bus was called in and the team continued on its way, special thanks to third baseman Megan Knochel.
3:38 p.m.
The team was scheduled to practice from 10:15 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. and then participate in a “Little Sister” program set up in the Raleigh community. Each of the eight teams participating in the Championships have been assigned a “Little Sister” team and they were scheduled to have lunch with the middle-school aged girls today. Meanwhile, Ellen and I kept driving - driving through Ghent, Bland and Fancy Gap are moments neither of us will forget! We hit a thunderstorm just across the North Carolina border and are hoping after last weekend's rain-filled regional at Alma that we aren't bringing the storms with us. Not to worry – Ellen kept on and we should be to the Sheraton Raleigh by about 5 p.m.
10:38 p.m.
Just back from the championship banquet and it was entertaining and quite the experience. Each team is given the opportunity to send two representatives to the stage and those representatives share something about their team with the entire crowd, including the other seven teams in the championship. Seniors Melissa Tavidian and Mary Pietsch represented Alma well, telling the story of the bus breaking down and more. It was really interesting to see what each team would come up with – they were all SO different. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America awards were handed out following the dinner. While other MIAA and NCAA Championship teams had individual student-athletes recognized on first, second or third teams, Alma was shut out of the awards this year, making this a true all-american team.
Back at the hotel now in downtown Raleigh. Peace College have been great hosts thus far and it is shaping up to be a great tournament. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Stay tuned for more – I am heading to the field at 11:30 tomorrow morning!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
The Alma College campus came together at 8:15 in the morning to send off the Scots as they embarked on a trip to the NCAA Championships in Raleigh, N.C. The team on its way, we wrapped things up in Alma to begin our own trip to the Championships.
Athletic Director Ellen Curtis and I set out from Alma, Mich., at about 4:30 p.m., to head to Raleigh, N.C. After making good time, we stopped outside Pittsburgh for the night. We would be up and on the road by 8 a.m.
Posted: Sun, May 22nd, 2005 at 6:41PM
