Hello Wildcat fans,
This week has been full of firsts. We took our first road trip of the season and the first road trip for all the freshmen, we got to practice with the Italian National Team, and most of us got to play in the Mary Nutter for the first time.
This year marks the 18th Annual Mary Nutter. Participating in the Mary Nutter has been an Arizona softball tradition for years. However, we were unable to attend the Mary Nutter last year because it was canceled due to covid. We are excited to be able to play there this year and look forward to the atmosphere and competition that is unique to this tournament. The type of setting at this tournament reminds me of playing travel ball when I was in middle school and high school. There are teams from all over the country coming to play. We play at a complex with multiple fields. There are food trucks and vendors, and I have played at that complex before. I have become used to playing in big stadiums at colleges but playing in this tournament brings back good memories of when I played travel ball.
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In preparation for this weekend’s tournament, we got to practice with Team Italy the day before we left for Palm Springs. They had been using our facilities all week to practice because they are also playing in the Mary Nutter, and it was fun to be able to practice and scrimmage with them the day before we left. It was fun to be able to talk with them and share softball knowledge and experiences. It was good to see Giulia be able to reunite with her teammates from the 2021 Olympics and meet the new members of the team. They were great people to be around. They taught us a few words in Italian, and it is an experience I will never forget.
This week is our first away game and our first road trip of the season. We don’t get to have road trips often because we fly to most other places. Having road trips allows us to spend a lot of time together and get to bond. To pass time we hangout, watch movies together, and sometimes get some homework done. Every year we have a tradition where each of the freshmen have to stand in the front of the bus, with noise canceling headphones, playing a song of their choice at full volume, and sing that song to the whole bus. It is a tradition we look forward to each year and is a way to lighten up the mood for a long road trip. This trip has been fun and I look forward to traveling with my teammates throughout the rest of the year.
Carlie Scupin is a standout first baseman with the Arizona Wildcats under new coach Caitlin Lowe. She is a native Tucsonan recruited by legendary coach Mike Candrea since she was in middle school. She is a 2020 graduate of Tucson High School. Last season as a freshman, Scupin was a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection and an NFCA All-West Region third-team pick. As a junior at Tucson High, she was named the 2019 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year. She was also selected to the USA Today All-America second team in 2019. She hit 44 home runs while hitting .623 during her high school career, which was cut short her senior season of 2020 due to COVID-19.
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