Swinging for Dana- In Honor of Dana Housely

This past week our Lady Aztec softball team entered into the Dana Housley Memorial tournament. This tournament was held in honor of Dana Housley, a teen softball player that died from suffering from a brain aneurysm. She played for Etiwanda High and was a stud at first base. She collapsed during one of the games at age 15. The school holds this tournament in honor of such an amazing young lady and athlete.

Although this tournament was a tough one, our girls hung with these tough teams and made them work. With our small town girls going against these D1 schools, you’d think they’d have a rough time, but the other teams would say otherwise. The opposing coaches congratulated our ladies on their fight and the challenge that they brought, because, as we all know, it’s not where you come from, but it’s what you bring to the table that matters.

Coach Matthew Shipley said, “...you guys won the games they were meant to win, and made the other teams work for the wins that you didn’t get.” It was a long week for these ladies indeed. You’d think that since the tournament was so far away they’d be tired and sleepy from the bus ride, but if you were there you could hear them cheering and chanting from the dugout as if they’ve been awake the whole 2 hours! The excitement for the season is undeniable and entering into this tournament with these top level teams, some even ranked in the top 10 of the nation, is only going to make our Lady Aztecs better.