School is back in session and Double-A Zone guest blogger Shelby Stiner has returned to the Middle Tennessee campus. In this month’s post, Shelby fills us in on her first weeks back in Murfreesboro and her thoughts on the Blue Raider softball team.

I’m back in the Boro! Murfreesboro, that is. I left my house at about 4:30 a.m. Friday, August 25th for my flight back to Tennessee. I landed at about noon and went straight to my apartment where my two teammates Martha [Davis] and Sam [Floyd] were already moving in and getting situated.

I knew this would be so much better than last year, because last year when I was moving in, it was with complete strangers, but this time it was with some of my teammates. It definitely was not home, but it was the next best thing.

I felt like I was at a family reunion because in the apartment upstairs there were also four more teammates. This year I didn’t have my family to help me move in and set up. So I had a lot more work to do myself and it was sort of sad seeing all of the families helping each girl. But the Davis family (Martha’s parents) helped me move in and set stuff up. THANKS SO MUCH!

In the middle of moving in we dropped everything and walked across the street to our field where our coaches, Leigh Podlesny and Jodi Chmielewski, planned a Middle Tennessee family picnic. By the way, Leigh is pregnant with her first child and she is such a cute pregnant lady.

It was so good to see everyone and their families that I had gotten to know. We also had a lot of new people, including our new recruit from California, Caitlin McLure. We had a lot of fun on her visit, so I couldn’t wait to get her here.

Each player had to stand and introduce their parents and I stood up and had no one to introduce because my parents were at home in Arizona, though I did take offers of adoption. The Moms and Dads do a great job of including me as their own daughter. I sort of get spoiled.

School started that Monday, and let me tell you, 8 a.m. classes are not fun. You would have thought I would have learned by my senior year. I am taking 18 hours, which is more than I have ever taken. It will be tough, but I like a challenge. Speaking of a challenge, school was not the only thing that started back, so did weights and conditioning.

We got a new strength and conditioning coach. And let’s just say it’s not easy walking to class on the third floor. The first two weeks consisted of very demanding workouts. For example, we had to run the football stadium steps and to give you an idea of the size – it holds 30,788 people. WHEW!!!!

On September 7, we had a Blue and White Scrimmage, the old players versus the new players. I was so excited because I got to use my new glove I got in the summer, it is blue. My teammates loved my new glove and now everyone wants one just like mine.

The returning players wanted to come out and prove something to the new girls in the scrimmage. And even more, I was the leadoff batter against our new stud pitcher from Washington, Lindsey Vander Lugt, so I felt the need to start it off.

I watched the first pitch go by, ball one, and the next pitch I sent right back past Lindsey up the middle. I can’t even tell you how good that felt. You would have thought I had a clutch hit in a championship game.

Well back to reality.

WE LOST! The new girls beat us. We played well; they just strung their hits together at opportune times. We were frustrated at first, but then we sort of said to ourselves, “Hey, they are on our team.” I was really impressed with the girls. We have more speed and power and two great new pitchers. I think the coaches were happy. I know I am. I can already tell that we are a step ahead of where we were last year.

Well, I am off to class and then on to workouts. It never seems to end, but that is okay. In the next few weeks, we will be playing some fall games against local teams. It will be a good gauge of where we are and what we need to do to prepare for the season. See you next month, and of course, GO BLUE RAIDERS!!!!!