Alexis Mack is a 2015 grad who is at the Boulder Independence Day Tournament with her club team, the Beverly Bandits and, now that it’s the weekend, it’s Single Elimination time!

The South Carolina-signee set the Ohio high school state single season record with 79 steals as well as the career mark with 234. The infielder hit .682 this season with a fantastic .717 on-base percentage and reached base in 94 of her 120 plate appearances.

A soon-to-be announced FloSoftball All-American, Alexis is sharing her thoughts and experiences this week in Colorado and, with the weekend upon us, she looks back at her experiences in Boulder as well as the task at hand–going as far as possible in bracket play…

 

***

No one remembers or cares who finishes first in your pool. What people do remember is who won the whole tournament.

On Friday, my team secured the No. 1 seed in our pool, and although it puts us In a good position to win the whole tournament, the real winning starts on Saturday during bracket play.

Over the course of the last two days we have played four pool play games, each one exposing new things we need to learn from as both a team and as individual players. And each one acting as a different test, testing our abilities and our preparation.

Although making mistakes during these games can be OK, making mistakes this weekend is not.

The purpose of pool play games is not just to place you in a spot in the bracket, but it is also to allow teams and players to work out the kinks and learn from mistakes. If you and your team are doing it right, during bracket play the mistakes you made during pool play won’t ever happen again.

The last two days have not only filled with some great softball, but a lot of fun memories as well. Friday was awesome because we got to play our last two pool play games in the morning and then we had the rest of the day off.

We started the day off on a good note, winning both our games against two good teams, the Tampa Bay Mustangs and USA Athletics from California. As a team, our chemistry and energy level was high and for us, and most teams, that usually translates to great play.

For me as a player, these last two games really allowed me to figure out a game plan as a hitter for bracket play.

As a triple threat player, I bunt, I slap, and I hit. Although I can do all of these, sometimes one thing, or two of the things seem to be working better on a particular playing surface, with a certain competition level, or I’m having a higher confidence with.

By the last game I felt comfortable with what my game plan as a hitter will be for bracket play because I was able to learn from all my at bats in pool play.

After our two pool play games, our team went back to the hotel. We showered and got all ready to go out to dinner at Pearl Street in downtown Boulder, a tradition we do every year when we have the night free of playing.

The last three years we have gotten dressed up and ate at Cheesecake Factory as a team and then walked around and shopped at all the little stores and watched all the interesting people and shows that perform.

Every year at Pearl Street, there are people that perform acts and different things you never would have imagined.

Things like giving a guy any zip code in the USA and even out of the country and him being able to tell you what city it is. One guy juggles fire, there are many people singing in little groups and playing the piano or ukulele.

It really gives you a true taste of Boulder and there really is no place in the world like it. It’s just another amazing place that playing softball has allowed me to see and given me the opportunity to experience.

Tonight was my last night here in Boulder for a long time. This being my senior season and, because I leave for college soon, I will not have another night here to enjoy Pearl Street, enjoy the beautiful mountains, hangout and laugh in the hotel room with my teammates, go out to eat with my team and coaches, go whitewater rafting, paint balling, or go carting.

It makes me look back at all the nights over the last three years I have spent here and realize how great they are, and I am so happy I never took one of those nights for granted because I enjoyed every moment. I am thankful for every single one of them with my parents, my team, and my coaches.

If all goes well, our team will have three games. These games will be a test of how well we have learned from our mistakes in bracket play, how well we play together as a team, and how much we want to win.

These games are always high intensity for both teams, great competition and games, and really reveal what your team is made of and capable of because everyone is playing to win.

In other words, these games are going to be a lot of fun!