New Mexico Lobos Softball – at Lobo Softball Field – vs. San Jose State
When: 5 p.m., Thursday; 6 p.m., Friday; noon, Saturday
Who: San Jose State Spartans
Where: Lobo Softball Field
GoLobos.com: Live stats, live stream, stats, game recap and more.
Mountain West Network: All three games will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoLobos.com.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
You probably won’t really miss the wind sprints, the early-morning wake-up calls, the hours in the weight room or the aches and pains that come from being a collegiate athlete.
But you will miss the laughter, the locker room, the road trips, the dancing, the jokes, the music and the eyes of your teammates. You will miss the band of sisters.
“These girls are assigned to the team and they are forced to be my friends,” said senior Brandi Heimburg, jokingly. “I’m going to have to go out now and learn how to make my own friends.
“Your teammates mean so much to the college experience. If you didn’t enjoy your teammates, you wouldn’t enjoy the game so much. We are out there fighting for each other.”
Said senior Carrie Sheehan: “I will miss my teammates so much. I don’t know what I will do without them. You are so busy as an athlete and you don’t have time to do much but to hang out with each other or maybe other athletes. They are so much like family.”
The Lobos will say goodbye to their seniors this week in the usual fashion. There will be flowers, family, friends, hugs and a few tears. There also will be an opponent to try and beat between the lines – an opponent still in the Mountain West race and looking to three times spoil the Lobos’ ending in a season-ending series at Lobo Field.
The Lobos will play host to San Jose State Thursday, Friday and Saturday and the Spartans, 15-6 in Mountain West games, need a three-game sweep to cling to any hope of pulling the league title – and the automatic NCAA bid – away from league-leading Fresno State (17-4 MW) or San Diego State (18-6 MW).
The Lobos will be out to spoil things for the Spartans simply because the Lobos, 12-9 in Mountain West play, are a competitive group. However, they also want to make the series special for their seniors.
UNM will say farewell to Heimburg, Sheehan, Mia Hignojos and Gabrielle Stacey. Sheehan and Hignojos are four-year Lobos while Heimburg and Stacey came to Erica Beach’s program as transfers.
“Every senior class is different and unique in its own way,” said Coach Beach. “I have a different set of emotions every year, but a lot of the same ones because the bottom line is that you miss them all and hate to see them leave.
“It’s always hard to watch your seniors play their last game for you because they have all given so much of themselves to be student-athletes. They give so much of their lives to a program, to a sport and to their teammates.
“I hope we have a huge crowd to help us honor them.”
Heimburg and Hignojos have each played in 51 of UNM’s 51 games this season. Stacey has played in 29 games and Sheehan, a pitcher, has 24 appearances in the circle. Sheehan would like to add an appearance in the batter’s box.
“If we really get ahead by a lot, I wouldn’t mind getting to bat,” said Sheehan, raising her voice so Beach would get the message.
Beach has been pretty good at ignoring that message this season. Sheehan has no plate appearances. Heimburg has been up to bat 172 times, which is tops on the team. Heimburg did not say she wanted to throw any pitches at the Spartans.
Stacey has 69 at-bats and Hignojos has 146. Hignojos said one of the things she’ll miss most about leaving Lobo softball is the road trips.
“I’m going to miss the trips so much,” said the product of Odessa, Texas. “You have so much fun on trips laughing and goofing around.
“It’s such a sad thing to leave your teammates and the game and it has really hit me hard the past few weeks. You owe so much to the game. I think being on a team helps you develop traits that you don’t always see in regular students.”
If you have ever accompanied a sports team on a road trip, you understand what Hignojos is talking about. Road trips can be fun. But Stacey also appreciates the camaraderie that erupts in any locker room prior to taking to the field.
“I like all the pre-game stuff,” she said. “I like the rituals before the game in the locker room when you are listening to music, singing, dancing and getting pumped up for the game. You miss everything, but it’s sad to leave your teammates, your coaches and your school.
“Lobo softball is so embracing. We are a tight-knit group.”
Of course, the tightness of an extended family doesn’t always hit immediately. Sheehan remembers her first days as a Lobo. She thought about making them her last days as a Lobo.
“It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman crying in my dorm and wanting to go home,” she said. “I was so homesick as a freshman. But you realize going away to college is a great way to grow up and get away from mommy and not always have her to rely on.”
Sheehan found out what most athletes find out. You haven’t lost a family – you simply have added some new members.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and Sports Columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him atrstevens50@comcast.net.