NCAA Division II Softball National Championship Travel Log
By Tom McGuire, Sports Information Director
Saturday, May 29
Day Five...(11:25 p.m.)
This will be the last travel log of the Huskies softball trip as the team was eliminated today from competition.
It was a great season for the Huskies despite the loss and we will certainly miss Jan Hutchinson. She gave everyone a lot of great memories for the last 33 years.
The day started off well enough for everyone. During breakfast I had a nice conversation with the parents of Emily Young. We were all pumped for what we hoped would be a great day.
By 10 a.m. the team was ready to depart for the field. Everyone travelling with the SID had to be ready to go. You know…10 a.m. means 10 a.m! (the students who work with me know…if you’re early…you’re on time. If you are on time, you are late. Think about it.)
When we got to the field I got set up in the press area and the team was already taking some BP and warming up.
Come game time the PA announcer, who has struggled all week long with names, forgot to announce the Molloy starters. Then the microphone for the young girl singing the national anthem did not work. A rough start to the day for sure…at least for the operation staff running the tournament.
BU won a nail-biter 2-1 in nine innings and headed back to the hotel for a quick bite to eat. Everyone that is but those who had to take part in the press conference. Those players, Mandy Leach, Casey Massimini and Shavaun Fisher piled into the back of the mini-van for the short ride back to the hotel. (The seats were all folded down in the last row of the van so the players had to make due laying on the floor for the ride back).
The team headed back to the field for another warmup and the SID staff wrote a quick story, made some phone calls, ate a quick slice of semi-cold pizza (another glamorous part of the SID world no one knows about. SID types can eat a whole meal in six minutes. That’s usually all the time we have between events or at halftime! Does wonders for your stomach.)
Back at the field the Huskies had the lead, lost the lead, tied the game, then had the season end on a walk-off home run. Not a great way to go down, but again nothing to be ashamed of.
Following the game we all headed for an Olive Garden about 20 minutes away for a late dinner (another little known SID fact. We often eat late meals).
Back here in the hotel following dinner and things are quiet. We leave late tomorrow afternoon for home so one more day of trying to kill time. For me, part of it will be spent trying to figure how the heck the guys at the airport got all the luggage in the mini van I have been driving all week. That’s going to take some doing. Good thing I have time!
That’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed you the writing. I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a note at
tmcguire@bloomu.edu and let me know what you thought of the travel log.
Special thanks to my assistant Ryan Rebholz for all his hard work this week. He has been taking the photos you see in our photo gallery and spends hours while I am writing editing them and posting them to the site. Great job Ryan. Also, thanks to my student worker Tim Hipzer. He really wanted to come on the trip, but we couldn't bring everyone. So I am putting his name in the blog!
Day Four....(11:56 p.m.)
It’s an off day on the schedule for teams that did not win opening round games. With a day off, the question becomes how to fill your time?
Some of the team headed to an amusement park outside of Kansas City, while the SID staff also headed to Kansas City, but went to Arrowhead Stadium home of the Kansas City Chiefs football team. Being a life-long Chiefs fan a trip to Arrowhead was necessary since the stadium was just about an hour away from St. Joe. Of course the year I go to the stadium it is under construction and we cannot get in. But, we were able to visit with the PR staff of Chiefs who were kind enough to take time out of their day to chat with us. After a few photos outside the facility, it was nearing lunch so Ryan Rebholz got google maps on my phone and directed us into downtown Kansas City. After locating a place to park ($5 for three hours…a bit more than downtown Bloomsburg’s 25 cents for an hour) we asked a local where the best place to eat might be. She directed to a spot about a block from the parking lot filled with all kinds of restaurants. Ryan and I were looking for a place called Famous Dave’s, but ended up at Johnny’s Tavern, a local hangout with LOTS of TVs on the wall, all showing sports! I had the brisket sandwich special, which could have been the best sandwich I ever ate. Ryan had a barbeque chicken sandwich with onion rings and then topped things off with desert.
When we walked out of the place we say country singer Brad Paisley…ok one of his tour trucks, but we did see his picture on the side of the truck. His roadies were setting up for a concert near the Sprint Center in downtown KC on Friday. Never heard of a such a big singer like that giving a free concert, but that’s what we heard was happening tonight in downtown KC.
On our drive to and from KC it is interesting to see the exit signs here in Missouri. Unlike in PA where you may see a sign for say route 487, the signs here direct you to route letters. One exit was D, another UU and another B. Also going to into KC we had to exit at 2P off a I-70. Who names an exit 2P? There was also 2L, 2G, 2A and 2B. The 2P just threw me.
Back in St. Joe we all gathered at the hotel. The team members who went to the amusement park had a quick turnaround to get ready to go back to Heritage Park to see the game between Angelo State and Hawaii-Pacific (the Huskies could play the loser of that game if we beat Molloy tomorrow).
While the team departed for the game I hung back with trainer Roxanna Larsen and AD Mary Gardner. Roxy, as she is called, had to finish the team laundry (the glamorous part of D-II athletics). After the laundry was done we headed to the field. Thank goodness for Roxy…she has been my supplier of bug spray. I basically have to take a bath in the stuff to keep the bugs off me (and I still got eaten up).
Some of the team and assistant SID Ryan took seats in the front row of the park. I joined them later to see what the view looked like from there. I managed a few innings there before the sun, though late in the day, was still too much for me so I took cover in the shade. When the game hit the ninth inning tied at 0, Jan had seen enough and everyone headed for the vans.
Dinner was everyone on their own so the coaching staff along with a former player (Cindy Freeland) and a former assistant coach for the Huskies from the team’s 1982 AIAW championship squad, joined a large group of us for dinner at a local restaurant not far from the hotel. We all had a great time swapping stories. Of course, we had to break up the night and head back to the hotel since it is late and we head to field at 10 a.m. (central time) for the noon start.
That wraps up the travel log for Friday. We’ll be back tomorrow night with more!
Go Huskies!
Thursday, May 27
Day Three...(11:20 p.m.)
It’s the end of day three of our trip to Missouri for the NCAA championships. Of course it wasn’t a happy day for the Huskies as we lost to Valdosta State 7-5. The team showed a lot of heart though nearly pulling off a tremendous comeback in their final at-bat. [You can read about the game elsewhere here on our web site.]
With a 2:30 p.m. (central) game time the team departed for the field at 11:27 am (27 is a lucky number for the team). We all met in the lobby to depart and saw some of the players parents there…including Raychelle Kuhns’ parents who drove all night to get to Missouri. Even the parents are dedicated and there are a lot of them here cheering on their daughters.
The team got to the field and watched part of the day’s first game, then went to warm up. It was once again hot here in Missouri and some of the team (and SID) looked for some shade. In my hunt for shade I ran into a local, an older gentlemen, who filled me in on the area, including about all the trains that run past the field. And there are lots of trains that run past the field. They could be some of the longest trains I have ever seen and since there are some railroad crossings near the field…there are always long and loud blasts of the train whistle during play. Not sure how the players could concentrate!
After the game was over everyone headed back to the hotel. The SID staff, myself and Ryan (Ryno as Dani Lazorka has now dubbed him) Rebholz, and I then got to work on updating the web and doing all the post-game work. While we were busy working the players went to dinner with their parents or other players. Ryno and I were finally able to get out and get some dinner at a rib place about 15 minutes from the hotel. (the ribs were ok…not great as we had hoped!) One thing I have noticed about St. Joe’s as I have driven around the area…lots of one way streets that suddenly turn into two-way streets. Also in the middle of the road two way streets there are dotted lines instead of double yellow lines. Not sure why, but man that is sure annoying.
We then headed back to the field. The final game was in progress with a post-game fireworks show immediately following the show. Ryan and I found the team and made our way to the bleacher area to join them. One thing here though…the biggest bugs outside of the rain forest are flying around this field and FINDING ME! I must have a million bug bites…and no amount of spray is helping. Jenna Hampton thinks it is because I am so sweet. (thanks Jenna!).
Nikki Shiko, Mandy Leach, Jenna, Tara Reed, Shen DeBaro, Sinea Gallagher, Raychelle, Sam Pientack, and Emily Young (and her mom) were all up near the top row. Nikki, who is afraid of bugs, told me not to move as a bug the size of a muffin was on my back. Thanks Nikki. After the final out of the game the fireworks show got started and was pretty amazing. It went on for about 15 minutes and got a big round of applause when done.
Back at the hotel the 1-2 punch decided to play reporter and interview the SID staff on camera. Pretty crazy reporters those ladies!
Tomorrow is an off day for the Huskies with a morning practice scheduled. The rest of the day is free time. The SIDs are headed to Kansas City so our travel log will be limited tomorrow. BU is back in action Saturday at 1 p.m. eastern. Be sure watch the game live on ncaa.com.
Go Huskies!
Wednesday, May 26
Day Two...Second Report (11:15 p.m. central time)
It’s late in the evening here in St. Joe, Missouri on Wednesday before the tournament starts. We are all just back from the Banquet of Champions that was held on the campus of Missouri Western, about 15 minutes from our hotel. Before we left for the trip over the team posed for a group shot in their dresses. (It was like seeing your daughter off to the prom and taking some photos.)
The event started with a welcome from the Missouri Western president followed by a buffet dinner. (odd choice to have cream of potato soup on a day it near 90 degrees, but it was still good). Following dinner each team was introduced with the captains or seniors coming up to the microphone to do or say something about their team. For BU Nikki, Casey, Shen DeBaro and Mandy Koch got up and sang a song they wrote on the bus to Williamsport yesterday. (We’ll be posting the link to the video of this on our championship web page. Keep an eye out for it). A player from North Georgia played a guitar and sang a song she wrote, while a player from Hawaii Pacific did a traditional Hawaiian dance. Very cool stuff.
After that it was time for the naming of All-Americans for the 2010 season. The Huskies had three players named…Lacy Mauro (third team) and Danielle Lazorka and Shavaun Fisher (second team). Also earlier in the day Fisher was named second team All-American by the Sports Information Directors, while Shiko was named honorable mention All-American.
The program closed with a highlight video featuring photos of all the teams and interviews with the coaches and some of the players. When the event ended the players headed back to the hotel, while the coaches, SIDs, trainers and ADs all got together to discuss how the tournament will be run and to go over any last minute questions. Most of these meetings are dry and routine, and tonight no exception. Only a question on ground rules kept this from being totally routine. (It could be a home run festival tomorrow as the field dimensions are 190 down the lines and 220 to center.)
Earlier in the afternoon the Huskies took part in a free clinic for the youth of the St. Joe area. All the teams were taking part in this day long activity and the Huskies went from 4 to 5:30 (along with Valdosta State on a neighboring field) in their portion of this activity.
That wraps up day two of our trip. We’ll be posting more stuff tomorrow as the Huskies begin their quest for an NCAA title.
Wednesday, May 26
Day Two
It’s day two of the Huskies trip to Missouri. The day started off with team having a 9:30 am appointment at the field for an official NCAA team photo. BU’s host family, Ed and Jean Weber, met us at the hotel and we followed them to the field, a short five minute ride. We were met by Brett Easley from the Missouri Western Athletic Department who is the tournament director. On a hot, sultry morning the Huskies had to put on their sweat suits for the official photo that will be given to each player tonight at the banquet.
After the photo op it was time for practice. Each team was allotted two hours of practice, one hour for hitting and one for infield work. The Huskies second hour was infield on the game field for the tournament. (You can see some shots of the field in our photo gallery as well a video of the field). Practice went well and coach Hutchinson was happy with the workout.
Following the practice session there was a barbeque lunch held about a mile away at a nature center right on the Missouri River. There was some great pulled pork, cole slaw and beans along with salad and cake. Dani Lazorka, who has been calling me Jerry (Jerry McGuire..get it) for two days, sat next to me. Dani really enjoyed the salad and went back for seconds. A DJ was there playing music and offering all the teams a chance to do karaoke. Of course the Huskies jumped at that chance led by Nikki Shiko, who enjoys oldies music. Bloomsburg sang “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by the Supremes…another oldies song there. After lunch everyone came back to the hotel to cool down before going back to the field later a youth clinic that all teams have to participate in.
I’ll check back in with you tonight with news of the rest of the day’s activities.
Tuesday, May 25
The Huskies day began at 8:30 a.m. as the team assembled at Hutchinson Field to board the bus to Williamsport where we would catch a charter flight to Missouri. When we arrived in Williamsport at the regional airport we learned that the plane we were to board had mechanical issues and a new one would have fly in to pick us up. With over an hour to kill our King Coal Tours bus driver drove us to the local Sheetz where the players and travel party stocked up on some snacks for the trip to Missouri.
Once the plane got to Williamsport we had to go through ‘security’ (it’s great to travel by charter) to get on the flight. The plane, which had about 30 seats, was not the biggest plane I have ever been on. Upon boarding we were told row 8 was the row with the most leg room. Being 6-4 I grabbed one of those seats, while pitcher Shavaun Fisher, who is 6-0 tall, took the other. Of course, the extra leg room came with a price…we would have to be prepared to open the emergency door in the event of an emergency. It was a tradeoff we were willing to take!
When we got all settled on the plane the pilot informed us we would need to fly to State College to get gas! Up 20 minutes, land, get gas, then back in the air. It is too funny when you think about, but the plane could not take off in Williamsport ‘heavy’ since the runway wasn't long enough. I can honestly say that was one of the worst 20 minutes flights I have taken. In the back of the plane Fisher, Dani Lazorka, Jenna Hampton, Mandy Koch and Mandy Leach and SID assistant Ryan Rebholz all felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, plus it was hot on the plane. Not a great combination!
Once we gassed up in State College we were off. Nikki Shiko and Casey Massimini were leading for the pilot and flight attendant. Those two kept everyone loose during the flight. Once airborne things quieted down and a lot of the players got a nap in. About an hour out from landing lunch finally got served! We were all pretty hungry by that time…about 3 p.m. eastern. As we neared St. Joseph the clouds finally broke and we could see the flat landscape of western Missouri. Just before 3 p.m. local time we touched down and finally got to stretch our legs.
Three vans were waiting for us, two 15 passenger vans and one mini van. The mini van was loaded to max capacity with all the luggage for everyone in the traveling party and we were off to hotel…a short 10 minute ride…through a small part of Kansas and across the Missouri River into St. Joseph. After everyone settled into their rooms, the players headed to the pool to rest and cool off, while the rest of us cooled in our rooms. Tonight it was dinner for the players in the hotel, while AD Mary Gardner and SID staff went to a local restaurant a short walk from the hotel and enjoyed a great meal. Now its time for rest and to get ready for a busy Wednesday. Be sure to listen to Jan Hutchinson on WHLM on Wednesday morning at 8:15 a.m eastern as she talks with Joe Reilly.
