In softball, like baseball, each batter can pick a 30-second song that plays over the stadium speakers right after the public address announcer says her name, concluding when the player steps into the batter’s box. For pitchers, the song is longer, about two minutes to cover the time spent walking from the bullpen and throwing their warmup pitches.
The walk-up or warm-up song is unique in sports. Each player gets to choose their own song that will be played during game play, which is considered rare in sports. For some players, walk-up songs get them pumped up and excited to go face a searing hot fastball. For others, it helps them calm down and relax for the forthcoming at-bat.
Aubrey Peterson, a freshman from Everett, Wash., chose “Here Comes The Hotstepper,” by Ini Kamoze. Peterson chose to walk-up to the reggae tune because it “makes me really chill, and I hit better when I’m really chill.”
Fellow freshman Ally Dickman was thinking along the same lines as Peterson when she picked her walk-up song, “Rock Your Body,” by Justin Timberlake.
“It’s kind of calm, but it’s also fun. It makes me feel good,” Dickman said.
Star junior Hannah Flippen also chose a song that makes her happy, “Keep Me In Mind,” by the Zac Brown Band.
“It’s a song that I’ve liked since it came out, and it makes me happy,” Flippen said. “I like feeling good before I go up to hit.”
For Flippen, the song has worked. Flippen has hit 10 home runs so far this season, more than her previous two years combined. Just last week, Flippen was named ESPNW’s player of the week.
For other players on the Utah softball team, their walk-up music was chosen for one reason; to get them pumped up to go hit. Bella Secaira chose “A Tale of 2 Citiez,” by J Cole because it gets her fired up.
“It just gets me in the mood to do some damage,” Secaira said. “And then I do the damage.”
Delilah Pacheco, junior centerfielder, set “Pull Up On A Kid,” by Young Thug, for her music as she walks to the plate.
“I just like the way it makes me feel when I’m walking up,” Pacheco said about the track. “It makes me feel hype, and I feel like everyone in the dugout really gets into it.”
Teammate influence was a factor in many Utes’ song choices. Kay Kay Fronda chose “Wild Out,” by Savage ft. Baby Bash so her teammates could get involved from the dugout.
“For me, it was supposed to be a fun thing so I get loose and not think too much and just kind of enjoy the song,” Fronda said.
Pitcher Katie Donovan chose to enter to the instrumental of Kanye West’s “Black Skinhead” to get her ready to throw. She said, though, that she can’t take full credit for the track choice.
“Kate [Dickman], one of our seniors last year, had it for an at-bat song, and it always got me pumped — the beat was really cool,” Donovan said.
While most Utes pick their own music, that wasn’t the case for freshman Hailey Hilburn, as her teammates picked the warmup song for the pitcher. Hilburn’s teammates picked “Diva” by Beyoncé, because they said it described her.
“[In the song] it says, ‘a diva is a female version of a hustler.’ It’s just saying I’m in it for the competition, so I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty or do whatever I need to do to win,” Hilburn said of the song.
Whatever music the Utah players walk up to this season, their favorite sound can never be replaced, and that is the crack of the bat after hitting another home run, or the smack of the ball in the catcher’s mitt after another strikeout.
@JoeColesChrony