Taylor McQuillin is a 16-year-old incoming junior softball player at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High and had a strong year for the Diablos hitting .416 with eight home runs..  A standout student with a 4.2 GPA, she has pitched for the OC Batbusters the last two years and had verbally committed to Oklahoma State as a freshman, but had to decommit due to medical issues with her father.  Currently, she has Pac12 offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State and Washington.

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 left side. 

Here is her latest blog for Student Sports Softball… today, Taylor explains why this week, the week-long fight to win the PGF 18U Premier National Championship, is her favorite time of the year.

*****

The PGF 18U Premier National Championship is here! It starts today and ends next Saturday, August 3^.

Many travel teams try to qualify for this tournament to get a chance to win a national championship title. Once having a berth in this tournament, every team dreams of winning that title; however, in reality, only one team will take the title home with them.

The best part about this time of the year is not the season coming to an end, but the final push to show that your team has the potential and the ability to take home the victory. This is the time of the year where you lay all of your cards on the table. This is the time of the year that matters.

Not only does it determine where your team places at the end of the year, but it also determines how well teams can handle the pressure. It demonstrates how well these softball athletes are able to perform under the limelight.

PGF is the big show. Now is your time to go big or go home. It is now time to prove not only to everyone else, but prove to yourself what you are capable of doing. Teams come together to fight for the top spot. One team wins, the rest have been defeated.

For me personally, this is my favorite time of the year. I feel that there is no place that I would rather be than be playing in the national tournament during this week. I get to show who I am and what I am capable of doing.

Nervousness comes and goes but, ultimately, I just want to show my team that I am there to play for them. No matter how fatigued you are, this tournament brings something out of you.

It is almost as if every girl out on that field is running off of adrenaline and excitement. All the feelings of fatigue seem to fade and the focus sets in. That desire to win stands out most. Every team wants to go in for the kill and take away the opportunity from another team.

Knowing that my coach is on my side and supports what I do makes me want to play well for him too. I appreciate everything that Coach (Gary) Haning has done for me and I am excited to continue to play for him in the future.

With everything on the line, workouts have been more intense and lessons were longer with the final touches being put on.

Now it’s time to work harder than ever knowing that no one will go out without a fight. I am ready to go. I am ready to fight. There is no better time than now. It is finally here.

PGF is here.

It’s time for every team to go out with a bang, time for 72 teams to compete for one title. Obviously, 71 of these teams will walk away with their last game of the season as a loss. Only one team will win.

One team will take it all.

—Taylor McQuillin (OC Batbusters)