Kendall Bowen couldn’t have had a better reason for being nervous Friday night at the Bakersfield Blaze game.
Having just recovered from strep throat and singing for one of the biggest crowds ever to be seen at Sam Lynn Ball Park, Bowen gave a star- studded performance of the National Anthem.
This is Bowen’s eighth time this season singing for the Blaze.
She also said that she has sung for the Mighty Ducks and the Bakersfield Blitz.
“I sent the Anaheim Angels a demo CD, I hope I get in,” she said.
Bowen said that it’s most difficult for her to sing in front of people she knows, but among a group of family and friends she walked with her head held high toward home plate and sang the national anthem.
She said she was unaware that fireworks were to be set off during her song.
“Oh my goodness, I didn’t know there were going to be fireworks. Could you tell I was caught off guard?” she said afterward.
A Bakersfield native, she has four children and is pregnant with her fifth.
She said people tell her that she should do something with her voice, but Bowen said all she wants to do is continue being a good homemaker.
“It’s fun, I like to do it,” she said about singing. “I hope I can do this for a long time.”
Bowen has been singing the national anthem at Sam Lynn Ball Park since 1992, when it hosted the Bakersfield Dodgers.
“I love baseball and I love to sing,” she said.
– Maria Johnson
Valley Oaks Charter School