Hello all!
It’s been a while, and I have quite a few updates! This past weekend, we had senior weekend against Arizona State. Not only was it senior weekend, but it was also alumni weekend. We were able to celebrate 50 years of Arizona Softball by honoring those who played before us.
On Saturday, it was officially “Alumni Day”. We had a really neat presentation before the game, where former softball players from each decade were honored on the field before the first pitch. It was an emotional sight seeing those who came before us, and it was a reminder that we will all become them one day. It was a surreal moment with athletes from the 1970s on, all on that field again. Now, the real tearjerker for me happened when from off to the side, Coach Mike Candrea walked on to the field to throw the first pitch. Seeing what he had built right behind him was absolutely incredible. He is a legend and will forever be one of the greatest coaches in softball history.
We had won the first two games of the weekend and moved on to Sunday, senior day. This was a day that I knew would come at some point, I just didn’t realize how soon it would be here. Before the game, each of us seniors had our moms come on the field to throw us the first pitch. I had always watched my teammates before me experience this, and it was amazing to finally be the one to do it.
If you all follow Arizona Softball, you know our Sunday game could not have ended in a more perfect way for our seniors, and specifically, our senior Carlie Scupin. We were down by two runs going in to the bottom of the 7th, and we ended up scoring three to walk it off and sweep the series, courtesy of a Scupin double to the left center gap, and the wheels of Regan Shockey scoring from first base. As the on deck batter, I got to watch the entire moment unfold and let me tell you, I had tears in my eyes watching Regan dive into home safely. Celebrating our seniors and Scup’s hard work paying off was a surreal moment and I’m so grateful that I was a part of it.
After the game, we had our senior ceremony. I chose to have my senior video accompanied by “My Way”, by Frank Sinatra. I felt so loved in that moment with the fans who stuck around at Rita, my family, and the team.
The year isn’t over yet, and our team still has work to do. And we’re excited for it.
Talk to you all soon!
Allie
LINK: MORE IN THE ARENA WITH ALLIE SKAGGS
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