Softball has given me so much in life. It's taught me the kind of person I want to be, and given me a sweet sisterhood. It even led me to my husband.

And my dad drilled it in my head, you know, 'If you want it bad enough, and you're willing to make the sacrifices, you can do it. But first you have to believe in yourself.

It is incredible how far women have come and women in sports have come.

Our sports [softball] is a game of failure already so my dad always says to parents who he is a pitching coach and he's been my pitching coach since I was 11 years old is if they can be the best kid on the team, let them experience that and then obviously the challenge has to come later on but you don't get that opportunity very often and confidence is such a huge part of this game and in life in general.

A macho attitude is totally to my advantage. Guys try to hit it 400 feet out of the park, but in softball you have to use a short, quick swing. Big, huge swings equal big, huge strikeouts.

I could have never dreamed what an amazing ride this has been.

I've face more than 35 major leaguers, and only two have ever made contact against me.

It's so empowering to see yourself as a machine.

When I lose, I take it very personally.