In this week's edition of Karrie's Korner, we will learn about Gael softball phenom, Sandra Ruezga's competition and travels abroad.
Upon receiving her diploma this past May, Sandra Ruezga was anticipating more than a job search like many other graduates. She looked forward to moving to Holland, where she would live with a Dutch family and compete on a women's softball team. Sandra currently plays for the Hoofddorp Pioneers in Hoofdorp, North Holland under Berend Mannessen.
The All-PCSC Second Team standout plays first and third base for the Pioneers as the team fights to earn the right to move from the Second Class division to the First Class division.
My job is to help our team move up," says Ruezga. If the Pioneers finish in the top-four in the Second Class they will have the opportunity to compete in a tournament against the other top teams of the Second Class and the bottom four teams of the First Division. If victorious at the tournament, the Pioneers will bump up to a First Class team.
Sandra is bouncing with excitement about her experience both on and off the field. She lives with a Dutch couple and their 14-year-old daughter who also plays for the Pioneers.
They are amazing and have really taken the time to teach me the language and make me feel like I'm part of the family," she said.
While she is the only American on the team along with a Canadian pitcher named Melissa Oddie, she will be playing against two other Americans—the pitcher and catcher from UC Riverside. Along with the diverse number of countries represented in her softball league, the ages of the players range all the way from fourteen to women in their late thirties.
I feel very honored to have been presented with the opportunity to not only represent my country, but to be able to fully immerse myself and bring back a piece of the wonderful spectra that forms Dutch culture," stated Ruezga.
Sandra has also been helping coach clinics with other softball teams in Hoofddrorp where she concentrates on young players' hitting, base-running and special plays. She says that coaching at these clinics is even more rewarding than playing the sport because she has the opportunity to build a foundation for the next generation of players who will keep the sport alive.
To have been a part of Saint Mary's most successful softball team in the history of the program was a great accomplishment, and I feel like being able to end my softball career in a place like Holland is like icing on the cake, said Ruezga.
