Article Options

Johnston City's Erin Glasco living the dream

By Scott Mees, The Southern

Monday, June 30, 2008 9:14 PM CDT

Erin Glasco experienced a life-long dream recently when she played in the Women's College World Series for Texas A&M. The former Johnston City standout started at catcher for the Aggies in the championship series against Arizona State.

"It was just honestly amazing," Glasco said. "That's what I spent my whole life working for. It was surreal and it was the goal of my college career."

The television exposure and playing in the Big 12 Conference made the decision to attend Texas A&M an easy one for Glasco.

"Growing up that was the thing to be in," Glasco said of the CWS. "It's on ESPN and all the people you look up to are playing in it. Even in high school you dream of going to Oklahoma City."

Although the Aggies fell to Arizona State in the series, they still enjoyed an outstanding season with a 57-10 record. Glasco, who just finished her junior year, played at Notre Dame her first two years of college. However, Notre Dame turned out to be less than the perfect fit for her.

She was granted a full release so that she didn't have to sit out a year. That move turned out to be a good one as she played for one of the best softball teams in the nation.

"I knew I went down to a team with a lot of talent," Glasco said. "I was able to come down and fill the catcher's hole. We expected nothing less than to go the College World Series."

Although she struggled somewhat at Notre Dame, Glasco turned things around this season at Texas A&M. She hit .288 with 11 doubles and 27 RBIs for the Aggies.

"I think the way the program is run fits me better as a player," Glasco said. "The coaching staff is pretty laid back and just easy to get along with. I felt like the skill level they could teach was perfect for me."

Another big reason Glasco chose the Aggies was because she'd get to play for Jo Evans. Evans has won the Big 12 Coach of the Year award in three of the past five seasons.

"Coach Evans has been one of the biggest mentors of my career," Glasco said. "Just how she communicates to her players is great. You never go to practice or games and not learn something from her. It's an honor to play for her and I think everyone feels that way."

Glasco received some national television exposure May 29 when ESPN aired a terrific catch she made on its Top 10 Plays. Glasco made a diving catch behind home plate in a contest against Virginia Tech.

"We got back to the hotel that night after we won and I had a bunch of people telling me I was the No. 8 play on ESPN," Glasco recalled. "I almost couldn't believe that was really me. You see Albert Pujols and people on there so it was really cool."

Glasco's goal for her senior year is to help her team get back to the College World Series and go out on top.

"I want to be the best leader I can be for our team," Glasco said. "I want to be the role setter and the hard worker that sets examples to the younger players. I want my coach to look at me and know that I will get the job done. We lost a lot of seniors but it would be huge to make strides and get back to the series."

scott.mees@thesouthern.com

351-5086