Taylor McQuillin, the talented pitcher ranked as the No. 5 rated prospect in the 2015 class, got off to a great start to her high school season, pitching two shutouts over the weekend with a combined 25 strikeouts.

The Southern California standout has committed to the Univ. of Arizona and plays for one of the premier club teams in the nation, the OC Batbusters-Haning.  She is also a standout student with a 4.2 GPA at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School where she earned 1^st team All-Orange County honors in 2013.

Perhaps Taylor’s greatest accomplishment is she has done all this despite having to overcome birth defects making her completely blind in the left eye and with only partial hearing on the left side.

Here, in her latest blog for Student Sports Softball, Taylor talks about what she does mentally and physically to prepare for a game.

Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

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Every athlete has her own way of preparing for a game and with high school season just coming to a start recently here in California, all of the teams feel ready to go out and win and compete for a CIF title.

Personally, I love high-school season because of how close our team is.

We all come together to play and always play for one another. Besides the game day preparations I have, our team has game day rituals as well.

To prepare myself for game day mentally, I first try to clear my head. I think it is important to walk onto the field with clear eyes and a clear mind. Never think about the past or the future outcome but play the game at that time in that moment.

I also know what our team is capable of and before every game our team has a “pep talk” and a motivational discussion that carries us into the game and reminds us that everyone has the same goal on our team and that every person is there for one another.

Each year when I approach a new season, I know that every year is different but I always work towards being a part of a team winning a CIF ring. Each game is an opportunity to get better and prepare our team for CIF.

The past few years we have fallen short and this year we hope to change that. It keeps us going and pushes us to do our best.

Before a game day, I like to get enough rest and just relax the night before, so I am fully energized for the game(s) the next day as well.

I have a lucky bow that I wear which never seems to fail!

As a team, we have a ritual of putting on eye black before the game and praying before the start of every game as well.

I think praying definitely helps us relax as well and it gives us the clear eyes and minds that we need before we step onto the field.

It creates confidence in not only ourselves, but assures us that at the end of the day, softball is just a game and we just have to play the game like we are capable of playing and we will continue to succeed.

— Taylor McQuillin