Summer is a time for many Eastern Michigan University students, including Lindsay Rich, a pitcher on the EMU softball team, to go on vacation.
Rich recalled her favorite vacation growing up.
“We went out west to Yellowstone National Park and the Rocky Mountains and that was a lot of fun,” Rich said. “We got to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monuments and that was a really fun vacation…it was a long drive.”
When she isn’t going on vacation with her family, Rich finds other ways to spend time with them.
“My younger brother and sister both play sports,” Rich said. “So we usually go to their sporting events.”
When it comes to taking a break during the summer, there is one place Rich said she goes often.
“There’s an ice cream place,” Rich said. “It’s called Mr. Freeze and that’s a huge thing in Perrysburg and I love going there.”
They feature a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup shake that Rich said is her favorite item on the menu.
She began playing softball at the age of 8 and said she stuck with softball for two simple reasons.
“I played basketball and volleyball, but this [softball] was the only sport I was really good at and that I loved,” Rich said.
In addition, Rich said it was the people she played softball with who helped make the sport fun for her and helped solidify her choice.
Rich said her choice of favorite food has a special significance to her.
“My grandpa grew up in Alabama, so he brought all of his southern foods back up with him,” Rich said. “I love all that kind of stuff like grits and mashed potatoes, but black-eyed peas are probably my favorite.”
Off the field, Rich is described by her teammates as having a fun personality and being very personable.
“Rich is really fun, bubbly, she’s kind of different from other people in the things she likes,” second baseman Amanda Stanton said. “She loves ‘Star Wars.’ She’s just fun. She comes over; we hang out all the time.”
“She’s my best friend,” catcher Courtney Loe said. “She’s always making me laugh and we’re always hanging out and watching movies and going out to eat. She has just been here for me since I transferred here.”
On the field, Rich’s attitude is completely different.
“Rich is probably the most confident in the way she carries herself,” Stanton said. “She’s on the mound and she’s going out there and getting the job done. She’ll turn around and she’ll kick you in the butt if you’re making errors…she’s out there and we have to have her back and she lets you know that.”
“She’s very intense,” pitcher Lauren Wells said. “Just the looks she gives, you don’t want to go to bat against her because she’s so intense.”
“What stands out to me is that Rich is a ‘go-getter,’” Loe said. “I know that Rich is also going to get the job done; she’s very intense and probably has one of the most intense attitudes on the team and that’s going to benefit her the next two years she plays.”
Name: Lindsay Rich
Position: Pitcher
Hometown: Perrysburg, Ohio
Favorite movies: “Les Miserables,” “Pitch Perfect” and “Bridesmaids”
Favorite Actress: Tina Fey
Favorite Actor: Adam Sandler
Favorite Music: Country
Favorite Singer: Johnny Cash
Follow Al Willman on Twitter: @AlWillmanEcho
