Lady Dogs make the regionals

[State82]

Headed to ULL. Good job on that.

[preachermatt83]

proud of them... really tough ull team they gotta get thru

[TheRef]

Yupp...face off against the Texas first then they will either get ULL or Texas Southern.

[I seen it dawg]

Congrats. Things are good at the little yard.

[Goat Holder]

Would really like for Vann to stick around for a decade or so and make us a destination school in the titty version of the American past-time as well. If she stays long enough, it's only a matter of time before she wins big. She's just that type, anyone who has met her can attest.

[preachermatt83]

Would really like for Vann to stick around for a decade or so and make us a destination school in the titty version of the American past-time as well. If she stays long enough, it's only a matter of time before she wins big. She's just that type, anyone who has met her can attest.
agree completely and the only way I see her leaving is for a powerhouse school. She got done very badly at Bama so it wont be there I assure you. Tennessee or UGA maybe but I think she loves it here and she is paid pretty well.

[LC Dawg]

Coach Stuedeman spoke to our alumni group last year and she seemed to genuinely love MSU and was excited at the opportunity to win big here. That and the letter about what the team did in Baton Rouge makes me want to hang on to her for a long time.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Coach Stuedeman spoke to our alumni group last year and she seemed to genuinely love MSU and was excited at the opportunity to win big here. That and the letter about what the team did in Baton Rouge makes me want to hang on to her for a long time.

What did they do in Baton Rouge?

[notsofarawaydawg]

Here is the letter:

Dear President,

I’m so honored to send you this email to commend the Women’s Softball Team last weekend in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I’m a board member for The Dream Day Foundation located in that city however, my home is in Maryland. The foundation supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and on the first Saturday of every May for the past 20 years we hold a private function north of the city for the patients and families.

Our families and I were staying at the Marriott which happened to be the same hotel of the MSU Softball team. I had the pleasure of meeting Coach Vann Stuedeman in the lobby and jokingly mentioned that the team should come to our function tomorrow. She asked what the function was and I explained that we have 3 buses and a large police escort that arrives early in the morning to drive the kids to the function. Vann replied, “We can’t attend the function but I’ll tell you what we can do. If you tell me what time to kids are loading the buses in the morning I can ask the team to form a tunnel and greet them as they board.”

The next morning I left the hotel at 6am to head to the function. When the police and families arrived, I inquired if MSU was there . . .they came alive with excitement and surprise when they answered.

At 7:15, on a game day, Coach Vann had the entire team and support staff lining the lobby and out the door. They cheered, clapped, gave high fives and took pictures with the kids. I’m told the excitement and energy was amazing. The police officers were blown away and the families talked about it all day. Coach sent me a text telling me that she believed they got more out of that experience than the kids and families. I replied with a lengthy text and asked her to share it with the team. I was so moved that on the eve of May 4th, I waited in the lobby for the bus to return from their game with LSU. I wanted to cheer them and thank them for their caring, compassion and support.

When the bus arrived, I walked outside, unknowingly just after Vann read my text to the team. The team members approached me individually, shaking my hand, looking me in the eyes and thanking me for the opportunity they had with the kids. I could barely hold back my tears of appreciation. Even when they entered the hotel and the families were walking around, they stopped to talk and share stories. It was amazing.

These are amazing ladies that recognize the importance of life and the opportunities before them. As I wrote to Coach Vann and the team, “many people have the ability to make a difference and decide not to but today each of you made a difference in the life of a child.” I also wrote, “they may feel what they did wasn’t a big deal but to the families and kids...it was huge.” I know the families will never forget that experience and I hope the team doesn’t either. I can assure you that I will never forget that. I’ve shared this story with our entire Board of Directors and anyone that will listen.

21 remarkable, beautiful, athletic and intelligent players with a staff who have a heart larger than most people rose up early after a late night game and yet a game to play later that day to greet total strangers in a time of their life with so much uncertainty. I can’t express enough the appreciation to every person associated with MSU Softball that day.

They are ambassadors of hope and inspiration. They represent MSU to the highest of standards and I hope you can find a way to recognize their unselfish act of kindness and love.

I’ve already purchased my MSU Softball shirt and as long as Coach Vann is there . . ..I’m an MSU fan! And yes, I’ll be watching the game on ESPNU Wednesday.

This is our website which I invite you to visit: http://www.dreamdayfoundation.org/

With my deepest appreciation,

Brad Gentile

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

That's awesome, it looks like the softball team is building a great program both on and off the field

[ScoobaDawg]

Shes just that kind of person... and an amazing pitching coach and I;m very impressed what Tyler Bratton has brought over from baseball.
The seniors we are losing are big but silkwood the freshman pitcher is really showing out towards the end of the year. And pitching is the most important part of softball.

[curmudgeon]

And pitching is the most important part of softball.

That's an understatement. USM went to the World Series with one great pitcher and hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since she left.

Vann is a highly regarded pitching coach. The problem is college softball is the pinnacle of softball now. When there was Olympic softball, a great high school pitcher might make the decision to go to a place like Mississippi State to learn under Vann. With no Olympic softball, its about choosing the best college program. We're getting much much better, and have plans to improve the facility 100 fold. That will help, but the allure of Vann as a pitching coach is just a factor, not THE factor that it could be.