Orange at the Louisiana Classics
The Orange opens its 2010 season at the 24th annual Louisiana Classics tournament, playing five games in three days from Friday, February 12 to Sunday, February 14.
Thursday – February 11, 2010
The first road trip of the season officially begins as we head to Lafayette, La. for the 24th annual Louisiana Classics tournament. The team was excited and ready to go boarding the bus to the airport.
Despite the winter storms throughout the Northeast, we had no flight problems as we arrived in Atlanta a little after 6 p.m. Our two and a half hour layover allowed the team time for dinner and homework before we boarded our flight to Lafayette at 8:30 p.m.
With the time change we arrived in Lafayette around 9:15 p.m. and were at the hotel shortly after 10 p.m. The team turned in pretty quickly after arriving, looking forward to opening the season tomorrow.
Friday – February 12, 2010
We were surprised when we woke up this morning to see snow flying outside! The snow didn’t last for long and there was no accumulation, but Louisiana isn’t prepared for this winter weather like the ‘cuse and the news showed many schools had closed for the day.
The weather caused a change in the tournament schedule, pushing back our game against Bradley and cancelling our second game against Louisiana-Lafayette. Luckily, our later flight out on Sunday allowed us to reschedule a second game with the tournament hosts before we leave.
Despite the change in plans the team was looking forward to getting outside in the morning. Freshman pitcher Stacy Kuwik was probably the most prepared, already donning her #21 jersey when she arrived at breakfast at 7:30 a.m.
The starting lineup was announced in a team meeting after breakfast, and we left for the field at 10:30 a.m., insuring the team had enough time to warm up before facing Bradley. When we arrived at the field the team was excited to finally see dirt and be able to get out on a real softball field for the first time this spring.
It wasn’t quite the weather we were expecting for Louisiana, as the temperature was measured at 38 degrees before game time, which potentially dropped after first pitch. Almost everyone we encountered throughout the day told us that we didn’t have to bring the Syracuse weather with us to the south.
The team dropped a tough, 3-2 decision to Bradley, despite a strong season debut by sophomore pitcher Jenna Caira. Caira pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs while striking out 11. The Louisiana-Lafayette co-head coach spent some time in the press tent and was awestruck by Caira’s change up, which baffled the Bradley hitters.
After the game, the team grabbed lunch and headed back to the hotel for some downtime before dinner.
For dinner, we took a recommendation from Troy, our bus driver, and went to Randol’s a local Cajun restaurant and dancehall which featured Cajun food and live Cajun music. The team thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with some quickly hitting the dance floor to display their own versions of the Cajun two step. They also tried the local cuisine, with many sampling fried alligator and a variety of crawfish dishes.
After dinner, we returned to the hotel and watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympics while preparing for a big day of softball tomorrow.
Saturday – February 13, 2010
The team schedule was on a relaxed schedule this morning, as our games today are not until 4 and 6:30 p.m. The team enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the hotel before 10 a.m. and had a pre-game team meeting at 10:30 a.m.
The bus is scheduled to leave the hotel at 12:30 today for lunch and warm-ups. Fans are invited to follow all the day two action on our SUAthletics.com live blog.
