Five seniors are listed among the 2023 South Alabama softball roster, and each Monday throughout the season, one will give fans a view through their eyes as they recap the previous week. On tap this week is third baseman Meredith Keel.

Hey everybody! This is Meredith Keel here, super senior infielder, and I'm going to take you through our days in Madeira Beach!

Wednesday – Travel Day
Today, we woke up and had a short practice to get us going for the week. We're on spring break this week, which allows us to leave earlier in the week to make the long drive to Madeira Beach, Fla. Once we got the bus packed and ready to go we set off for Ocala, Fla., where we were going to stay for the night. On the bus ride, we listened to music, hung out with our teammates, and of course ate many snacks. We stopped at our team's favorite "Busy Bee". Every time we play in south Florida, our coaches let us stop at Busy Bee to get snacks, drinks, and whatever we need to get us through the week. Of course, I bought a few energy drinks to wake me up for our early mornings. After we got to our hotel, we ate dinner and had treatment groups. The rest of the night I spent hanging out with my teammates in our hotel room.

Thursday 
Today, our coaches surprised us with a trip to a Phillies Spring Training game. We were all so excited to go do something fun together, but no one was more excited than Odalys (Cordova). She is a huge Bryce Harper and Phillies fan. When we got to the game we all had seats together and got to enjoy the game. This is only my second spring training game that I've ever been to, and I was impressed with how big the crowd was. A lot of us walked around the stadium and picked up our lunch for the day. KK {Kaitlyn Hughes) and I got BBQ and fresh lemonade. The Phillies were losing early in the game, but by the time we were about to leave they had hit multiple home runs to put them back on top. We finished our day with practice at the park we were playing at and dinner from Olive Garden. 

Friday – Game Day 
Today, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We had two games against Chattanooga and Iowa. The park we were playing at was so beautiful. It was right by water and had so many palm trees around. We won our first game and lost our second. Our games finished earlier in the day, so we were able to have recovery groups and change before we went to dinner. Tonight, we went to Pinellas Bar and Grill for dinner, and I had a chicken dinner that was so good. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and Mackenzie (Brasher), Marley (Sims) and I Door-Dashed Cold Stone. We all went to bed early because we had to wake up before 6 am for our Saturday games. 

Saturday – Game Day
This morning we woke up really early to start our day. We had two games against Lehigh and Iona. Odalys hit her first home run in a Jag uniform against Lehigh and we were all so happy for her. We lost our first game and won our second game. During our second game, we played really well. Pretty much our whole team got an at-bat and I was so happy to see some of my younger teammates get opportunities. After the game, a group of us went to get Cryo therapy. This was my first time ever going and I was excited to see how it would feel. We put on wool gloves, warm socks, slippers and headphones and then entered this chamber of really cold air and cold temperatures. The idea behind it is that it's supposed to help with recovery. I was a huge fan of this and it felt really good on my body! Of course, while we waited for our turn to go we Door-Dashed Starbucks. When we got back, we showered and went to dinner. Tonight, we went to Chili's which is a fan favorite amongst our team. Being able to spend these times after our games with my teammates is one of the ways we create memories together.  To finish the night a lot of us packed and went to bed early because of the day light savings time change. 

Sunday – Game Day
This morning we woke up and got going before the sun even rose. We warmed up to the sun rising and dolphins swimming in the water next to us. We had one final game and we won, 3-2. Vic (Ortiz) and I both hit a home run and I was so happy to see Vic continue to dominate on the field. She is so close to breaking a few records in a Jag uniform and it's so fun to watch your friends/teammates accomplish those things. After the game, we showered at the fields and headed home. We stopped at Busy Bee again and got food and more snacks for our long drive home. The highlight of our drive back was our bus driver Earl being our DJ and enjoying his time with us as well. 

My last spring break trip was something memorable and I'm looking forward to Sun Belt play starting this weekend. Thank you for all reading, and Go Jags!

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