Hudson living the dream

A couple days removed from being eliminated at the Mid-American Conference Softball tournament the recently graduated Chippewa third sacker returned to Mt. Pleasant ready to do something.

But exactly what to do was the question?

With a couple different options to pick from the hard-hitting and slick-fielding slugger weighed each while she packed her life into her car and hit the road. To the west there was her home state of Washington and her family. To the east there was a potential tryout waiting with the Philadelphia Force of the National Pro Fastpitch league.

In the end the four-time first-team All-MAC player decided to roll the dice and try out for the Force. She arrived in Allentown Pa., in late May and was one of 12 players vying for two open spots. She thought her chances were slim, yet all the same she had to take her chance.

Statistically speaking Hudson-s career at CMU was one for the record books as she closed her four-year run as one of the best all-around players in school history. At the plate she set the school record for batting average as a sophomore at .414. Her career average of .356 also ranks third all-time. And when it came to fielding the ball she-s arguably the best third sacker in school history.

Hudson admits that she did everything she could to make an impression during her tryout and in the end that-s exactly what she did as head coach Jennifer Teague called her into her office and told her she had in fact made the cut. To Hudson it was a dream come true.

"Playing professionally is something that I have dreamed about every day," said Hudson, who signed a one-year contract as a utility player with the first-place Force. "There-s a great deal of satisfaction because I have accomplished a goal, but I couldn-t have done it without a lot of support from my family and friends. Everyone told me I could do it and that-s what I held on to."

Through the first 20 games of her professional career Hudson hasn-t seen a lot o