They hit the ball a lot. You try not to think about it because you can't get too lax out on the mound. But it's definitely in the back of you head there's a chance they're going to score more than two runs and get the win.

They're not lax but they're not Draconian.

When your arm gets hit, the ball is not going to go where you want it to.

Both teams hit the ball very well, and I don't know if that's attributed to good hitting or not great pitching, probably a a little bit of both would be my guess.

Stacey has started to hit the ball, which helps her defensively as well, so she's not carrying that back to the field. Karen is throwing well and is taking that senior leadership role. She tells the girls she's going to get the ground ball, so they have to back her up.

I was in the big leagues my first year in pro ball - pretty fast. I really don't think I had an understanding of what it meant to be a pitcher at that level at that point.