Husker softball returns from Mexico with heartfelt memories

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Nebraska softball competed in the Puerto Vallarta challenge in Mexico to kick off the 2024 season.

The Huskers split the four-game weekend, with wins over Long Beach State and Utah Valley, but the trip was more than just a season-opening tournament.

Head coach Rhonda Revelle said it was some players’ favorite experience as a Husker.

“Just thought with this team, it would be a good first start,” she said. “We knew that we would have an opportunity to get out into their community and kind of experience Mexico in a different way.”

This is not the first time Nebraska softball has opened up the season down south.

In 2017, the Huskers started that season with four games in Mexico. Revelle said it was time to come back.

“We knew that a lot of parents would like to be a part of that,” she said. “And then we stay at an all-inclusive resort, and it’s literally a seven-minute walk to the field. And so it’s a really nice atmosphere for friends and family, also, not just our players.”

During their stay, the Huskers spent time in the community including a trip to Escuela Urbana 554, an elementary school right next to the softball field.

“We probably took a little more than the recess time because the teachers were trying to get them in for lunch,” Revelle said. “And some of them went out and got their lunch and came back out.”

There the team took pictures, spoke to students and signed autographs.

“I’ve never autographed as many things, unique things as I could in my whole life,” Revelle said. “From shoes to arms to you name it.”

Revelle said the response from the kids was inspirational and heartfelt.

“Enriching experience all the way around,” she said.

Revelle said the trip also provided the team with more opportunities to bond.

“We stayed at an all-inclusive, so you were just around and among each other for meals,” she said. “And even when we went to the ballpark, I mean, we just all walked together. So even that seven- or eight-minute walk, just the conversations that popped up during that time, it’s just a different kind of bonding when you’re in another country.”

Being in the community has always been a big part of the team.

Earlier this month, the program hosted its first-ever fan fest at the Hawks Championship Center.

During the event, Revelle called all of the young fans to stand front and center to hear the team speak, a moment she says was not planned.

“I saw all those little girls and some little boys, too,” she said. “They just were so big eyed and so filled with excitement and actually reminded me of being in church and, you know, the pastor calling all the kids forward.”

Revelle said it was one of the players’ favorite days.

“It just became really joyous for them, and they even said when the kids came in tight, it just felt like a really intimate environment,” she said. “I think it really kicked off for a great first fan day.”

The Huskers will head to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a weekend tournament starting Friday.