“When I look back on the year and review everything my teams and I have accomplished I would not have asked for it any other way,” reflects Taylor McQuillin, one of the top pitchers in the 2015 class, on the experiences she had in 2013.

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 is her latest blog for Student Sports Softball in which she looks back on her club and travel ball experiences as well as having to decide where she’ll play in college.

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

 

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Being that the new year has started, I would like to go back and share some of the memorable moments of 2013 for me.

Last year was a year full of softball with amazing trips that I was blessed to attend.

In the fall of 2012 we had a fresh team of girls ready to be in a Batbuster uniform and, at first, it was a little shaky and rocky but it didn’t stop us from bonding and wanting to get better. By the time the fall ended we had made great progress and we felt like we finally started to gel on the field as well.

Then high school season started and travel ball was put on hold. High school season last year for me at Mission Viejo High School was absolutely amazing.

We had a team of wonderful girls who had the desire to win. We all had the same goal in mind and that was getting a ring. By the time league started, our high school team was ranked No. 1 in the nation and we all were very excited and proud.

We knew every team was out for us and wanted to beat us so that made it even more exciting for us because we always came out ready to play. Unfortunately, in the CIF playoffs we fell short and lost in the second round. We didn’t get the ring that we had worked so hard for but sometimes you just get beat, even on a good day.

Still, no matter what, we stayed close and played together as a team and we look forward to a wonderful season this year, hoping to start from where we left off. We know it isn’t over and we have a lot of heart and fight left.

Once travel ball started again in the spring, our Batbuster team had to regain all of the bonds on the field that we had lost and I thought we did that extremely well.

Our team traveled to Stockton, Calif., for a weekend and it was a huge reality check for us because we finally all understood what it meant to be a team and play for each other instead of ourselves.

In the summer we went to Colorado and the team started to gel—we became the team that we wanted to be. The rest of the summer for the Batbusters was a great one and at the PGF Nationals we proved to every other team out there that the Batbusters wanted to play and weren’t going down without a fight.

We ended up taking third and got extremely close, winning our bracket but losing twice in close games to Team Mizuno-Stith.  Even though we fell short, we ended off the year proud of what we became and knew that we all are capable of doing amazing things in softball, whether it be going off to college or continuing in travel ball.

After Premier was over, my mother and I had a whole other adventure to go on. We went on college visits to Arizona, Oregon State, Oregon, Washington and Arizona State and by end of the summer we were both exhausted.

I had another big decision ahead of me: during the spring I had decommitted from Oklahoma State University due to a family illness and wanting to stay closer to home. It was time for me to decide the next step in preparing for my future.

After all the visits I knew what was best for me. On September 3^rd I verbally committed to the University of Arizona. I am extremely happy with my decision and blessed with the wonderful opportunity given to me.

Once again the fall season started and a new team was formed. I enjoyed every minute of it and proud of the team that I am on. I know we will achieve great things and we are all ready to fight for a national championship. Thought it is still six months away but we are already excited to show everyone who we are.

Softball will always be a part of me and when I look back on the year and review everything my teams and I have accomplished I would not have asked for it any other way.

I look forward to a positive future for both high school and travel ball this year and can’t wait for what is in store.

Hope all of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season and have a fantastic new year!

— Taylor McQuillin