May 16, 2006

On The Road Index
#1: Charleston | #2: Richmond | #3: Orlando | #4: Charlotte | #5: New England

Freshman outfielder Mollie Schrank kept a journal for most of the Flyers' 2006 road trips, sharing her experience On The Road. Her final road trip took her from Dayton back to her hometown of Fairfield, Ohio, for the summer.

May 15, 2006
I've been home from school for a little over a week now and I'll be honest: it's nice. I have to go find a summer job because I'm broke, start working out again, and I'm taking a summer class at a nearby college that starts this week as well. I'm pretty sure my summer will be just as busy as my school year once everything gets going, but that's ok with me. I'm better off staying busy.

Coach called me last Wednesday while I was hanging out with my older brother. She informed me I was chosen Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and also part of the Conference's All-Rookie team! I was shocked. I mean I knew I had a good season. I was happy with my season, but I never thought I would get those awards.

And my team also voted me Best Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year. I was very excited and honored. For those of you who don't know though I was a walk-on this year. I had never spoken to coach before try-outs, I just basically showed up. Making the team alone was amazing and trying out was a very good decision. Being a walk on and a freshman on the team (I'm really a sophomore in school going to be a junior) I honestly didn't expect to get much playing time. I mean, even freshman recruits at a Division I school know the chance of them getting a starting position might not be that great. The team had a lot of injuries this year though and there was a lot of switching people around on the field. I played left field the majority of the year and was thrilled.

Coach gives me a hard time about not trying out last year and asks if I'm going to try out again next year or just "decide not to play." I can't change not playing my freshman year but I will definitely be back! I love my team and playing for Dayton. Our season maybe didn't go as well as we hoped, we lost more than we won, but the improvements we made were tremendous and as a team we went through a lot. We worked hard, had fun, and maybe we didn't qualify for the tournament, but from beginning to end we grew a lot.

It will be weird not seeing those girls everyday this summer like I have for the past nine months or so. I've talked to a few of them on the computer or phone and maybe a few road trips will be made. I'm definitely going to enjoy my! See you in the fall!

- Mollie