I walked out onto the clay of the softball compound to witness our Lady Owls sprawled out in right field seemingly wrestling with short pieces of rope wrapped around their feet. At first I thought it was some kind of anger management exercise. You know, kind of like the hitting of spouses with foam bats in late-80s therapy sessions. But, I was way off. The girls were just getting prepped to split off into batting practice and conditioning drills. After hanging in the dugout a few minutes while the girls did some short distance high kick sprints, I pulled Senior Jessica Braggins on to the infield grass to conduct our interview. We finished just in time to not be in danger of getting beaned by the first cracks of batting practice. Jessica is an Elementary Education major and quite a fun, hardcore girl. You can see she plays with solid spirit.
Pump: What’s the deal with the rope? Jessica: It’s great for stretching. It was introduced to us last year. If you can’t reach all the way to your toes it helps to increase the tension and stretching.
Pump: What are you doing to improve your game right now? Jessica: I’m concentrating a lot on my hitting. I end-up playing as a designated hitter rather than playing the field. So I’m concentrating on pitch selection – committing to a pitch and swinging as hard as I can. No regrets.
Pump: You’ve had an 0-7 start. Only one win since. What’s up? Braggins: Every team has its low point, better to have it at the beginning rather than the end. We can only go up from here. It’s up to us to rise to the challenge. Winning’s contagious. I have a lot of faith and confidence that we’re going to turn it around soon.
Pump: What’s up specifically though? Braggins: We’re not playing great D. We have an incredible defense and offense. We’re deep on hitting. We’ve got girls in the dugout, not in the line up, that can hit home runs. But it will make us stronger, make us more of a team.
Pump: You seem to have a bit of an accent? Where are you from? Braggins: I’m from Tampa. My dad was born in Lake County. My mom’s from Canada. (With a smile.) I went to school in Louisiana for a bit. Maybe I picked up something there.
Pump: Any mottos you live by on and off the field? Braggins: Every thing happens for a reason. On the field and in everyday life. So deal with it. It makes you a better person.
Pump: Talk about the fast pitch/slow pitch difference? Braggins: Well fast pitch is much more competitive. The talent is much better. It’s a totally different game. With soft pitch, you’re just waiting for it and nailing it. With fast pitch you have players that can move a ball from your hip to your ankles. You have to be quick and decide to hit or lay off.
Pump: Favorite softball movie? Braggins: Oh, it has to be A League of Their Own. We sing the songs quite a bit in practice.
Pump: What are you doing for dinner tonite? Braggins: It’s my friend’s birthday, we’re going to dinner to celebrate.
Pump: Goal for this year? Braggins: We always tend to lose on the Saturday of the Regional Tournament. I want to get to the College World Series, it’s what every athlete wants – to get to that game.
Pump: What would you say to FAU students? Braggins: They need to come out to support and watch us! We’re an hour and a half game. We’re intense! We’re a lot of fun. We’re tough!
You heard the nice Lady Owl. Check fausports.collegesports.com for all schedule information.