The 2011 Softball season has been one for the ages. Never before has a Triton Softball squad made it this deep in the postseason and you can follow all the action right here. Check back daily for updates on the NCAA Softball Championships from Salem, VA as the Tritons look to bring a title home to La Jolla.
May 29, 2011 - NCAA Softball Championships: Salem, VA
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Jenn De Fazio
Senior Second Baseman
"We're super excited. In a way, it hasn't really set in yet that we're actually in the championship game. We've worked hard all year long, though, and feel like we deserve to be here. If we continue to play our game, we can win tomorrow. After not even making the post-season last year, we tried to make this year different from the start. We tried to instill in our freshmen's minds that we were going all the way and were not going to let anything stop us. I think we showed how good we could be from the very first weeks of the season and now we're here, one step away."
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Lyndsay Gaylord
Senior Outfielder
"We're excited-it's the last game of the season and I know we'll be confident but it's not going to be given to us. I think tomorrow will be about not letting up, even if we're able to get ahead early. Alabama-Huntsville is a team that can change a game quickly. I feel like this is the best way to end our seniors' careers-I mean you can't get any better than this. We were confident before we got here and after winning our first game, that confidence has just continued to grow."
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Charly Swanberg
Freshman Catcher
"It means a lot to be able to represent our school and to prove ourselves as a softball team. I definitely know we believed we could make it here at the start of the season but in a sense, it's still a little like a dream come true. This is definitely the best that thing that's happened in my softball career. If we play our game, just leave it all on the field, we can win tomorrow."
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May 26, 2011 - NCAA Softball Championships: Salem, VA
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Sarah Woofter
The senior from San Leandro talks about the Moyer Softball Complex where the NCAA Division II Softball Championships are being played:
"It's a humongous complex, the fields are really deep and overall its a very nice facility. When we arrived for practice Wednesday, the first thing we noticed was that they have the same kind of outfield fence we have at home. The infield's also not much different than ours and their grounds crew did a great job of getting it in shape after last night's thunderstorm. The outfield grass is very thick and the balls take some interesting bounces. Overall, it's a very nice place to play. There's no shade, though which is kind of a bummer when we're watching other games.
"I've noticed the air is a lot thinner--the balls seem to carry a lot more. It's almost 'hard' to breathe too. I was breathing hard after just completing our warm-up run. The weather has also changed quite a bit during the short time we've been here. It was so humid during our game Thursday, almost unbearable. The minute you leave the hotel, you start sweating automatically. Today, the sun was behind the clouds so it was a whole lot cooler. It's not Southern California, that's for sure--a lot more moist and sticky."
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Emily McQuaid
The freshman from Arcadia, CA talks about her impressions of Salem, VA:
"It's very green and people here actually drive the speed limit. It takes a lot longer to get places than expected. There are a lot of hills, ups-and-downs and the streets are not laid out in a grid.
"The people here seem very nice and it was was to be greeted at the airport when we arrived--even though it was late at night. We haven't had a chance to interact with a whole lot of locals outside of the hotel and field but our host family has been very helpful and friendly. We've got the day off tomorrow and some of the girls are talking about going to see a movie. Some of parents who made the trip have tried to go see some of the historical sites."
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