Behind the Shield | Briana Bower

Hi Illini FamILLy,

My name is Briana Bower, a junior transfer pitcher from Mississippi State. I am from Huntley, Ill., and I am so happy to be home and wearing the Orange and Blue!  I am majoring in RST wanting to be a sports manager for a professional sports team in the near future.

This past weekend we had our alumni game, and it was a lot of fun. In the morning we all had breakfast together in our indoor facility, and the alumni had time to reminisce with each other. Each alumni introduced themselves in front of us and talked about their time spent with the program and what they were up to now. At the end, they all shared a piece of advice for us to help us as we continue our journey. 

The game started at 11AM. We split the alumni in half and every alumni that played brought their “A” game; and it was like they never left! They were smacking doubles, stealing bases, making plays in the infield, and catching foul balls in the outfield. It was a very special moment for them, especially when some of their own kids were there cheering for them. After the game, all of us did the Illinois fight song together around home plate and then we gathered in centerfield for the after-game talk. We then took a picture with the alumni, coaches, and team in front of the scoreboard but before we all left, we all broke it down in the huddle saying “Family”, and then got some time to talk to each individual alumni to ask them questions!

This week we have the Orange and Blue series starting on Tuesday through Thursday! The team is looking forward to ending our fall ball season competing against each other and of course, for bragging rights. We appreciate your support this fall, and we are looking forward to continuing to see familiar and new faces this upcoming spring!

I-L-L!!

Briana Bower #22

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