Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Hometown Hero: Julia Garcia of Cornwall, New York
4/2/2024 5:41:00 PM | Softball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" slowly fades into Rihanna and Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind." No. 12 in blue and white takes a couple of quick, violent hacks and then digs into the box glaring menacingly at the pitcher.
Behind that look is a feeling of determination, a determination to keep the line moving and help her team. It's a quality that was instilled in Middle Tennessee third baseman Julia Garcia at a young age growing up along the banks of the Hudson River. It's why, perhaps, she's been a player whose name is more likely to be penned on a lineup card, rather than penciled.
Cornwall, New York, Garcia's hometown, is a suburb of New York City positioned to the north along the Hudson River. Cornwall is kind of a mix between upstate New York and NYC, still densely populated and less than an hour drive time from the city. It is a "Main Street," community. There's a town square with a bunch of little shops and restaurants. Most owners have been there, and townspeople have been there for a long time. Kids graduated together. Generations passed down.
As a child in Cornwall, you spend a lot of time outside. Whether it's on a boat in the river or at the park playing ball, the important thing is that you always will have a friend to share your experiences with.
"I spent a lot of time on the Hudson River, growing up," Garcia said. "Growing up I had a boat and a lot of friends had boats. Our summers were filled with being on the water."
Of course, Garcia was also quite the ballplayer growing up. Starting as young as age five, she played with a group of girls that she would end up being teammates with all the way up through the end of her high school career. Those bonds they formed on the field taught them not only how to have success as players, but how to succeed as people. It helped Garcia develop a love for the game.
Even if she wasn't playing, Garcia spent time in the press box at her sister's games reading lineups over the PA system, scoring games and just watching. Whatever it took to be around the field, contributing in any way possible, is just what made her happy.
"Being able to play and be around my friends on the field and have fun is what made me fall in love with softball," Garcia said. "It's all about having fun. Nowadays, it's obviously a little more serious, but it's still important to have fun."
Around the age of 12, a lot of people started playing lacrosse, and Garcia started travel ball. She played for two different teams from middle school through the end of her high school career, but the theme remained the same. Being able to be on the field with her best friends playing the game she loved only grew her passion for softball. With the Empire State Huskies, she was apart of a team that won over 20 different tournaments in her career.
"I drove an hour and a half to practice every day for travel ball," Garcia said. "We were that close. I chose to move to that team to have more opportunities to play in college. I still talk to a lot of those girls to this day. We used to take trips down to Florida together with parents and coaches and had a blast."
Softball wasn't the only game she played, however, as she also played basketball and became an All-American in track and field. It helped add confidence in softball because she did track for three years and became an All-American, so it proved to her that she could have success at anything if she worked hard.
"In high school, I did track to stay in shape and ended up loving that, too," Garcia said. "I had some offers in track, too. One of my teammates from rec league softball was a thrower before I started, so it was fun to reconnect with her. It was cool to see how much I grew in track, and eventually became an All-American as a senior."
The team aspect that softball brought made her choose it, however. Track is so dependent on individual success. Contributing to a group of 20-plus and having them to lean on for help is huge, much like the way the people of Cornwall contribute and lean on each other.
Garcia's senior year, 2020, was a year that she and her family leaned on community more than ever before. In the height of the pandemic, the right-handed hitting third baseman had her final season of high school softball with her best friends taken away from her. To say that the pandemic was a rough patch would almost be an understatement because that final year that she was looking forward to going to the river with friends and playing on the fields they grew up on was just taken away suddenly.
Garcia had committed to Maryland Eastern Shore to play softball already, but it was hard to leave Cornwall because she didn't get to have all the memories that you get to make as a senior in high school.
"Leaving my hometown was super hard because I felt like senior year wasn't done," Garcia said. "There's people that I haven't seen since the day they shut down school that I used to see every day growing up. Communication cut off. When I left (Cornwall), there were a bunch of tears. The last day, I remember I was at the pool with my friends and my mom called and told me to come finish packing. I left the next morning and my whole world changed."
At Maryland Eastern Shore, Garcia didn't play her freshman season due to the pandemic, either. She regained a year of eligibility, but it was tough because she was missing two seasons of softball in a row. Her and a handful of teammates made the most of it all. With that mentality of always being there for her neighbor at the forefront of her mind, they made an at-home gym and had distanced workouts on the fields to stay sharp.
Even though she went nearly two years without playing a game, she picked right back up where she left off. At the plate, she led Maryland Eastern Shore in several offensive categories in her two seasons playing there.
"During the pandemic, there was about five of us that stayed on campus, and we used to work out and practice together, and that helped me a lot," Garcia said. "It was hard to have a full practice, but I was able to focus a lot on fundamentals. My sophomore year, we were able to have fall ball and we were in good shape because of it."
Garcia, of course, transferred to MTSU and continued to roll both in the field and at the plate, but this was her first time being truly far away from home. Fans in Murfreesboro are often surprised to find out that she's from New York.
In the south, there's always been a stigma surrounding people from up north. People can think they tend to be rude, selfish and always in a rush. Not Garcia, not Cornwall. In more ways than not, Cornwall and Murfreesboro are similar. Big, but still has a hometown feel. People help each other. That's why Garcia fits in so well with Blue Raider Softball. She contributes to a cause bigger than her and isn't afraid to pick up others around her when they're down.
"People ask me all the time, 'you're really from New York?" Garcia said. "I don't have a huge accent. People always tell me I don't seem like the aggressiveness of people from New York City. Learning about the environment around me down here has been so cool. My roommates are both from Texas and Colorado. It's been cool to learn about their cultures, too. It's all been a bit of a culture shock, but I love it."
At MTSU, especially in the athletic community, everyone knows everyone. Players from other sports talk all the time. Fans you may sit with at the Murphy Center taking in a basketball game in December likely will be the same people soaking up the sun next to you at the Blue Raider Softball Field in April.
Whether you're from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, or Cornwall, New York, it's easy to come together to root for a player like Julia Garcia because everything that Cornwall gave her is exactly the way that we strive to live in Murfreesboro, and how Blue Raiders strive to live around the world.
"The sense of community Cornwall gave me is the thing I'm most proud of," Garcia said. "My best friend grew up less than a mile away from me. It was awesome to have that growing up. I knew if my dog was home alone, my neighbor would go check on her. I knew I could call someone if I ever needed something, almost like what you see in movies. That's Corwall. That's why it's been so cool to be a part of the MTSU athletic community. Everybody knows everybody and it feels just like I'm back home."
Behind that look is a feeling of determination, a determination to keep the line moving and help her team. It's a quality that was instilled in Middle Tennessee third baseman Julia Garcia at a young age growing up along the banks of the Hudson River. It's why, perhaps, she's been a player whose name is more likely to be penned on a lineup card, rather than penciled.
Cornwall, New York, Garcia's hometown, is a suburb of New York City positioned to the north along the Hudson River. Cornwall is kind of a mix between upstate New York and NYC, still densely populated and less than an hour drive time from the city. It is a "Main Street," community. There's a town square with a bunch of little shops and restaurants. Most owners have been there, and townspeople have been there for a long time. Kids graduated together. Generations passed down.
As a child in Cornwall, you spend a lot of time outside. Whether it's on a boat in the river or at the park playing ball, the important thing is that you always will have a friend to share your experiences with.
"I spent a lot of time on the Hudson River, growing up," Garcia said. "Growing up I had a boat and a lot of friends had boats. Our summers were filled with being on the water."
Of course, Garcia was also quite the ballplayer growing up. Starting as young as age five, she played with a group of girls that she would end up being teammates with all the way up through the end of her high school career. Those bonds they formed on the field taught them not only how to have success as players, but how to succeed as people. It helped Garcia develop a love for the game.
Even if she wasn't playing, Garcia spent time in the press box at her sister's games reading lineups over the PA system, scoring games and just watching. Whatever it took to be around the field, contributing in any way possible, is just what made her happy.
"Being able to play and be around my friends on the field and have fun is what made me fall in love with softball," Garcia said. "It's all about having fun. Nowadays, it's obviously a little more serious, but it's still important to have fun."
Around the age of 12, a lot of people started playing lacrosse, and Garcia started travel ball. She played for two different teams from middle school through the end of her high school career, but the theme remained the same. Being able to be on the field with her best friends playing the game she loved only grew her passion for softball. With the Empire State Huskies, she was apart of a team that won over 20 different tournaments in her career.
"I drove an hour and a half to practice every day for travel ball," Garcia said. "We were that close. I chose to move to that team to have more opportunities to play in college. I still talk to a lot of those girls to this day. We used to take trips down to Florida together with parents and coaches and had a blast."
Softball wasn't the only game she played, however, as she also played basketball and became an All-American in track and field. It helped add confidence in softball because she did track for three years and became an All-American, so it proved to her that she could have success at anything if she worked hard.
"In high school, I did track to stay in shape and ended up loving that, too," Garcia said. "I had some offers in track, too. One of my teammates from rec league softball was a thrower before I started, so it was fun to reconnect with her. It was cool to see how much I grew in track, and eventually became an All-American as a senior."
The team aspect that softball brought made her choose it, however. Track is so dependent on individual success. Contributing to a group of 20-plus and having them to lean on for help is huge, much like the way the people of Cornwall contribute and lean on each other.
Garcia's senior year, 2020, was a year that she and her family leaned on community more than ever before. In the height of the pandemic, the right-handed hitting third baseman had her final season of high school softball with her best friends taken away from her. To say that the pandemic was a rough patch would almost be an understatement because that final year that she was looking forward to going to the river with friends and playing on the fields they grew up on was just taken away suddenly.
Garcia had committed to Maryland Eastern Shore to play softball already, but it was hard to leave Cornwall because she didn't get to have all the memories that you get to make as a senior in high school.
"Leaving my hometown was super hard because I felt like senior year wasn't done," Garcia said. "There's people that I haven't seen since the day they shut down school that I used to see every day growing up. Communication cut off. When I left (Cornwall), there were a bunch of tears. The last day, I remember I was at the pool with my friends and my mom called and told me to come finish packing. I left the next morning and my whole world changed."
At Maryland Eastern Shore, Garcia didn't play her freshman season due to the pandemic, either. She regained a year of eligibility, but it was tough because she was missing two seasons of softball in a row. Her and a handful of teammates made the most of it all. With that mentality of always being there for her neighbor at the forefront of her mind, they made an at-home gym and had distanced workouts on the fields to stay sharp.
Even though she went nearly two years without playing a game, she picked right back up where she left off. At the plate, she led Maryland Eastern Shore in several offensive categories in her two seasons playing there.
"During the pandemic, there was about five of us that stayed on campus, and we used to work out and practice together, and that helped me a lot," Garcia said. "It was hard to have a full practice, but I was able to focus a lot on fundamentals. My sophomore year, we were able to have fall ball and we were in good shape because of it."
Garcia, of course, transferred to MTSU and continued to roll both in the field and at the plate, but this was her first time being truly far away from home. Fans in Murfreesboro are often surprised to find out that she's from New York.
In the south, there's always been a stigma surrounding people from up north. People can think they tend to be rude, selfish and always in a rush. Not Garcia, not Cornwall. In more ways than not, Cornwall and Murfreesboro are similar. Big, but still has a hometown feel. People help each other. That's why Garcia fits in so well with Blue Raider Softball. She contributes to a cause bigger than her and isn't afraid to pick up others around her when they're down.
"People ask me all the time, 'you're really from New York?" Garcia said. "I don't have a huge accent. People always tell me I don't seem like the aggressiveness of people from New York City. Learning about the environment around me down here has been so cool. My roommates are both from Texas and Colorado. It's been cool to learn about their cultures, too. It's all been a bit of a culture shock, but I love it."
At MTSU, especially in the athletic community, everyone knows everyone. Players from other sports talk all the time. Fans you may sit with at the Murphy Center taking in a basketball game in December likely will be the same people soaking up the sun next to you at the Blue Raider Softball Field in April.
Whether you're from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, or Cornwall, New York, it's easy to come together to root for a player like Julia Garcia because everything that Cornwall gave her is exactly the way that we strive to live in Murfreesboro, and how Blue Raiders strive to live around the world.
"The sense of community Cornwall gave me is the thing I'm most proud of," Garcia said. "My best friend grew up less than a mile away from me. It was awesome to have that growing up. I knew if my dog was home alone, my neighbor would go check on her. I knew I could call someone if I ever needed something, almost like what you see in movies. That's Corwall. That's why it's been so cool to be a part of the MTSU athletic community. Everybody knows everybody and it feels just like I'm back home."
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