A player’s walk-up song can say a lot about who they are. Whether they want to get the crowd excited, hype themselves up or even calm themselves down, each individual player has different reasoning behind which song they choose.
Members of the Ohio State softball team shared why they chose the songs they did.
Senior center fielder Taylor White
“X” by Kendrick Lamar
“I saw the Black Panther and it’s on the Black Panther album and it’s cool and in the beginning, it says, ‘Black Panther’ and that sounds cool. I’m basically the Black Panther.”
Freshman third baseman Niki Carver
“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by The Charlie Daniels Band
“Our seniors chose songs for us. I’m from Georgia and they tend to make fun of my accent and stuff like that, so I guess it was suiting to choose that song.”
Senior left fielder Bailee Sturgeon
“Sauce It Up” by Lil Uzi Vert
“I love music and my brother actually sent me a link to some SoundCloud rapper, at the time, and it was Lil Uzi. At the time he was only kind of popular, but he just mostly had stuff on SoundCloud. I listened to him and then, as he’s gotten bigger and bigger, it’s cool for me to have that connection with him because I was there when he was just a SoundCloud rapper.”
Junior shortstop Lilli Piper
“Pipe It Up” by Migos
“Everyone calls me ‘Pipe’ because of my last name so it was just kind of ironic and I obviously had to choose it because it was just like a popular song.”
Junior outfielder Bri Betschel
“I Am the Greatest” by Logic
“I picked this song because when I listened to it, the beginning sounded really fun and pumped up and I knew it would sound good on our system. It just kind of gives you some confidence hearing, ‘I am the greatest.'”
Junior pitcher Morgan Ray
“Jump Around” by House of Pain
“I chose this song because it’s always been my dad and I’s song. We would dance to it and listen to it in the car before softball games since I was like 12. It makes me calm and it makes me ready to pitch.”
Junior catcher Emily Clark
“Bleed it Out” by Linkin Park
“I chose ‘Bleed It Out’ because it’s a song that a lot of people know. I picked the beginning because it gets me hype but calms me down at same time. I like to pick songs that will get the crowd’s attention and that will also get them going.”
Senior first baseman Ashley Goodwin
“Swag Surfin'” by F.L.Y.
“I picked my song because some days I’m stressed out about everything going on around me and I forget how blessed I am to play this game of softball at the greatest university.”
Senior pitcher Shelby McCombs
“Come Alive (Dry Bones)” by Lauren Daigle
“I chose my song because I love to use my platform as a Christian athlete to show who God really is and what he does in my life every single day. The song refers to the verse Ezekiel 37.”
Freshman first baseman Kallie Boren
“Where The Hood At” by DMX
“I didn’t actually choose the song, the seniors did. They thought it was funny because I’ve never heard of the song or DMX before.”
Senior catcher Becca Gavin
“Good as Hell” by Lizzo
“My brother chose it for me, actually. He thought it’d be a fun song and would get me in a good mood.”