42nd Hall of Fame Induction - Graber Associates

CARA BLUMFIELD ‘03Softball2010 INDUCTEEBoston College’s first softball All-Americandidn’t start playing the game until well intoher teenage years. She was just too good atbaseball.Cara Blumfield grew up in California andtook up tee-ball at the age of five. Even as asmall child she displayed an amazing aptitudefor baseball, basketball, and soccer. Hermother Caren, a physical education teacher,knew right away that Cara would be a star.The only question was which sport tochoose.“She was as good at soccer as she was at softball,and she loved basketball too. She’d bechanging her clothes in the car, going fromone sport to the next,” stated Caren, whoalso coached most of Cara’s teams.Cara moved into Little League and immediatelybecame an all-star. Girls who are goodenough to play in boys’ leagues are rareenough, but those who outshine their malecounterparts are rarer still. Cara made all theLittle League and Pony League all-star teams.She was a consistent hitter, but it was out onthe field that Cara dazzled all comers. Fanswould flock to games just to watch her playshortstop.By junior high school, baseball was no longeran option. She switched to softball and cameto the attention of Don Harris, coach of theSouthern California Stealth. Don knew thecollege coaches and the recruiting gamewell, and saw that he had a star among starswhen Cara joined the Stealth.“She had the finest set of hands, was thefinest defensive player, boy or girl, I eversaw. The only reason she switched frombaseball to softball was that they don’t havebaseball for girls in college,” said Don.“Every once in a while, to entertain the restof the team, I would hit balls right at her, ashard as I could, with the worst bounces, andlet her put on a show. She had unbelievableinstincts. She just couldn’t be moved out ofthat shortstop position.”Ones of Cara’s Stealth teams had four othergirls who would go on to play shortstop atDivision One colleges. On the Stealth, theyhad to play elsewhere – outfield, second andthird base.At El Camino Real High School, Cara won aslew of honors too numerous to recount here– All-City, All-State, MVP and others – as asoftball shortstop and as a point guard on thebasketball team.“She could have been a Division One, probablyAll-American basketball player,” statedHarris.The Stealth played in tournaments all overthe country, and Cara had many collegeoptions and offers. UCLA, her mother’s almamater, had recruited another shortstop anddidn’t offer scholarship aid. Though she wasn’tkeen on traveling far from home and playingin a colder climate, Cara knew thatBoston College was the best choice.BC coach Jen Finley had holes to fill for the2000 season and anticipated a rebuildingyear. But Blumfield and second baseman JenAsbury, another Californian, stepped in toplug the middle of the infield and lead theteam in batting. Blumfield started all 45games, finished with a .271 average, and hadtwo home runs.Asked about how she developed as a playerin college, Blumfield states,“The weight room. We’d work out two daysa week, even starting at 6:00 a.m. Afterfreshman year, I bulked up. When I touchedthe ball it would fly.”As a sophomore, Blumfield smacked 14 homeruns and raised her batting average to .389.The next season it was .445, with eighthomers.“I became extremely comfortable at theplate. And as I got older, I understood moreabout the game, and about things like pitchselection,” she said. Cara also changed theopen, baseball-style stance and swing to atechnique that was closed and better suitedto softball.In her junior year, Cara was named secondteam All-America shortstop by LouisvilleSlugger. She was the only player so honoredwhose team did not qualify for the NCAATournament. That experience, along withclouting a home run over the left-field scoreboardin front of friends and family at UCLA,rates among Cara’s fondest memories.Cara was durable, playing and starting 208games at Boston College. She missed onlyone game, sitting out as a precaution after acollision that may have put her at risk for aconcussion. She holds Eagles’ career recordsfor average (.348); runs (123); and RBIs(127.) She is second all-time in home runs(34) and hits (214). Her single-seasonrecords that still stand include homers (14);average (.445); RBI (51) and total bases(117).“If I had to describe myself, I’d say I wasconsistent. I also hate to lose. You can see itin my expressions on the field. I get animated,and pumped up, and I like to be incontrol and take over games. That’s onething I don’t like about coaching – you haveabsolutely no control once they start playing,”she said.Cara stayed around Boston for a year aftergraduation. She coached softball at NewtonSouth High and taught at Oak Hill MiddleSchool. The Newton South experience propelledher – eventually – to a coachingcareer.She turned down an invitation to play inIsrael and took a fling at her other dream, tobe a sports caster. She landed a job at KABCin Los Angeles as a producer, and then was areporter and entertainment show host.But Cara missed the athletic field and theyoungsters. She obtained teaching credentialsat Concordia University, and is presentlyhead girls’ basketball coach at her oldhigh school, El Camino Real.“Now that I coach and work with kids, I amso thankful for all the experiences I had andall the coaches I had. I never appreciatedthem at the time. The best thing I got out ofBoston College was the people I’ve met.“That’s the most important part about athletics,and why this honor is so important tome. I couldn’t have done it without my familyand my coaches,” she said.5