It’s Thursday night here in South Bend, and I’m getting ready for a road trip to Minneapolis. Tomorrow, we leave early in the morning so we are able to practice in the Metrodome, the site of the tournament we are participating in.

Earlier today, we had a long hard practice outside, where we worked on a lot of situational hitting in preparation for the weekend. However, tonight, I am sitting here by the TV relaxing with my four housemates who are on the team as well.

At Notre Dame, student-athletes are not allowed to move off of campus until their senior year, so this year has been a good change for all of us. Now, we have to do our own laundry, cook our own food and buy our own groceries, things that none of us have had to do in the last three years. All of that has made this year a fun/frustrating learning experience.

All of us in the house owe our survival this year to Steve Andres (senior leftfielder/DH) and wonderful maternal qualities. Steve’s ability to cook almost any dish has kept us from starving this year.

In recapping the opening weekend, I thought we played really well even though our record does not show it. We started the weekend off strong, convincingly beating Indiana State and Air Force. In our next two games, we played tough and lost
close ones to Memphis and Oklahoma.

I am excited because of the way we competed as a team in pitching, defense and offense. After being here for three years, I know what I saw the first weekend is a sign of great things to come.

One of the hardest challenges of the weekend for me came after we arrived back at Notre Dame on Sunday night. I am applying to medical school this year and have been scheduling my interviews on my off-days.

Last Monday, we had an off-day, so I scheduled my interview at the University of Cincinnati Medical School for that day. So, after arriving in South Bend at midnight on Sunday, I hopped in my car, picked up my suit from my house and started driving. Luckily, a former player and one of my best friends lives in Cincinnati, giving me a place to sleep for a few hours before my interview. In the end, it all was worth it because the interview went well.

Hopefully you all tune in when we’re playing in the Metrodome. See you next week from South Bend, Indiana.

Greg Lopez

(photo courtesy of Notre Dame Media Relations Office)