This is the ninth in a series of weekly question and answer sessions with members of the 51·çÁ÷ softball team conducted by team play-by-play announcer Ted Rossman. Each week a different Raider will be in the spotlight. Previous spotlights have featured Stacy Mui, Dorothy Donaldson, Kate Howard, Nichole Rawson, Rachel Smith, Natalie Rawson, Elena Isaac, and Kim Olmstead, and are available on the 51·çÁ÷ Athletics site (www.Go51·çÁ÷Raiders.com)
Sophomore utility player Bri Tsukamoto (Honolulu, HI) is enjoying a much-improved season at the plate in 2004. She has appeared in 23 games – 17 of them as a starter – and is hitting .255. Tsukamoto has already surpassed her freshman year RBI total (6), and tied her freshman runs scored total (5). This weekend at Lafayette, she went 3-8 with two runs scored and an RBI as the Raiders swept four games from the host Leopards. 51·çÁ÷ is next in action on Wednesday afternoon as it hosts Binghamton in a non-conference doubleheader at the Eaton Street Field.
Ted Rossman: When did you begin playing softball?
Bri Tsukamoto: I had always played soccer competitively growing up. I really liked it. I went to a really small school, so the soccer coach was also the softball coach. When I was in sixth grade he asked me if I wanted to play softball, too, and I was like, ‘okay,’ and I guess it went from there.
TR: Are there a lot of misconceptions about what it’s like to grow up in Hawaii?
BT: Yeah, a lot of people think like I went to the beach every day or that I lived in a shack on the beach [laughs]. I grew up in Honolulu, which is actually a pretty big city; a lot of people don’t realize that. It was a lot of fun though, and very warm. I guess maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, though [laughs].
TR: What made you decide to come to 51·çÁ÷?
BT: [Laughs] I get that question from people all the time. I’m actually one of the few people from my high school to go to an east coast school. I came here on a recruiting trip; 51·çÁ÷ was actually the only east coast school that I applied to. At the time I kind of viewed it as a free trip to New York, which I thought would be fun, but once I got here I found out that I really like it here. I made my decision on the last day possible, so that’s how [Dean of Admissions] Gary Ross knows me [laughs].
TR: Did many of your high school classmates stay in Hawaii?
BT: Yeah, a lot stayed in Hawaii. Not that many left, really. Those that did mainly went to west coast schools.
TR: You have started in 13 games this season and raised your batting average over the .300 mark. What do you think has been the key to your improvement at the plate this season?
BT: Well, for one, last year I almost never got to hit at all [in games]. This off-season, Coach C [Jim Ciccone] really got me to focus. It’s hard for me sometimes to concentrate on hitting, but he’s been really helpful giving me extra cuts in the field house and working hard with me in the cage.
TR: How would you describe your playing style?
BT: I’m what Coach [Sax] would call a role player. I play both infield and outfield, and I don’t always get to bat. I just try to step in wherever I’m called upon.
TR: Do you have a favorite position?
BT: I really like infield, middle infield especially. I played shortstop in high school. Sometimes I get a little bored in the outfield [laughs], but that’s a good sign because it means that our pitchers are doing well.
TR: Many of your teammates have talked about how your positive attitude helps inspire the entire team. How does being positive affect your game?
BT: I like to have fun. Obviously softball is very competitive, but I like to have fun and win at the same time. I really like to help other players have fun, too, because it helps me out so much when people act that way towards me.
TR: Is there anyone, beside yourself, who helps you to stay positive?
BT: Yeah, Kim Olmstead, who’s my best friend on the team, can tell when I’m upset, which not that many people can do. Also, Kate Howard is hilarious.
TR: Many of your teammates have talked about how close you and your teammates are. Can you comment on this?
BT: Yeah, we’re definitely a really close team. I think a lot of it is the road trips during the season, where we basically live with each other.
TR: Can you give us some insight into a road trip with the team?
BT: During the Florida trip, I stayed with Kim Olmstead, Elena Isaac, and Kate Howard for the week. We kept talking in crazy accents and ordering food. It was so much fun.
TR: You have a lot of fellow sophomores on this year’s team. What is it like having so many teammates in your class?
BT: It’s great, because we’re all pretty close. Last year there were eight of us, and now there are six, and while we’re just sophomores, I think that we’re all in it for the rest of the way. Hopefully, at least.
TR: While you are only a sophomore, do you have any plans for the future? What are you majoring in?
BT: I’d say I’m pretty much undecided right now. I would like to move back to Hawaii someday, though. I’m a SOAN [Sociology/Anthropology] major.