National Pro Fastpitch player Clare Burnum will be guest blogging for RINGOR  in a series called "Life as a Pro Softball Player" .  During the 2010 NPF Season she will offer readers an interesting insight into the everyday life of a professional softball player. 

About Clare Burnum
Clare is 3B/UT for the Akron Racers and is entering her 7th season as a pro.  In the offseason, Clare is the Head Softball Coach for Canby High School in Canby, Oregon.  A 2-Time NPF All-Star, Clare's softball resume is impressive.  In addition to 7 pro seasons, she was a 3-time All PAC-10 Infielder at Oregon State and an ASA All-American.  Clare's passion for softball is contagious.  She and RINGOR look forward to sharing her experiences with you this summer.  Stay tuned!

This week I brought along the digital camera and took some photos from around the clubhouse and out on the road.  I've included a few of them in this post along with a little commentary to help explain each photo.

Here's a picture of the "limousine bus" we took for our last roadtrip.  On long trips we have enough travel time that we can watch a few dvds on the bus, which definitely makes time go by faster.  I also bring along my iPod so I can just relax and even fall asleep if I'm tired enough.
 

The morning after our optional hitting/defense practice the team and I went out to eat at "Burnt Toast", which is a restaurant that specializes primarily in breakfast food.  They have great french toast and omelettes. I enjoyed a California BLT because it was almost lunch time and I thought it sounded better than breakfast.
 

We just finished up a home stand against the visiting Chicago Bandits followed by the USSSA Pride.  Against the Bandits we won the series 3 - 1.  I played third base the first two games.  In the third game, I didn't start but did get a pinch hit double.  I then scored to tie the game in the bottom of the 7th! Unfortunately we lost in 8 innings.
 

View of our stadium from the centerfield fence. Firestone Stadium is a VERY fan friendly stadium to catch a game at!
 

In the final game of the series I got an opportunity to play left field.  It was quite the experience and was much more difficult than I had anticipated.  I have a lot more respect for our outfielders now.
 

In the series versus the Pride we won 3 of the 5 games.
 

Scoreboard at Firestone Stadium.  Home of the Akron Racers!

On a side note…

I have been working through my offensive struggles. I have not yet been performing the way I would like to at the plate for the Racers. I am happy to say that I have gotten much more comfortable and truly am very happy and honored to have the opportunity to play another season. So far Akron has been a great experience. We are very tough and plan to take the whole thing this season!

Here's a few more pictures from Akron:

Photo of Catcher Liz Young (University of New Mexico) sporting her favorite RINGOR tennis shoes, the Diamond Velocity Trainers, which she loves.
 

Photo of myself and Trena Peel. This is my 4th consecutive season playing with Trena who is a graduate of LSU. We are the same age and have much respect for each other as ballplayers!