The Mary Nutter gives irreplaceable moments.
This tournament was a true testimony about how the game of softball is GROWING! There were estimations of crowds as big as 5,000 people during the Saturday games, and countless young girls asking for teams' autographs all weekend long. At one point during our game break, I was watching my teammates sign a young girl's shirt and another's glove. The moment made me realize that all 21 of us are truly living out our dreams. Every one of us used to be those young girls asking college players for autographs and here we are today; you just have to pause on that and be extremely grateful.
This tournament is special ????
— Northwestern Softball (@NUSBcats) February 27, 2022
There's nothing like the @NutterClassic #GoCats | #BeRemarkable pic.twitter.com/vFThSfbBZW
From the electric crowds, to the best competition with the tournament being invitation only, this was the opportunity to play on one of the biggest stages where you learn so much about your team.
Here is what I learned: our team goes all in on ourselves and each other!
There is no name on the front of our opponent's jersey that means too much to us. In every matchup, we pick ourselves. That's not in an overconfident way it is because we know how hard we are going to work for seven innings. Until the last out is made, we pick ourselves because we believe we will outlast our opponent by being the tougher team.
This weekend we had incredible wins against top teams. Danielle Williams and the defense completed shutdown 1-0 wins vs. Oregon and Washington. We also had tough battles where we came out on top and fell a little short. One of the games we were down seven runs in the first inning and still clawed our way back until the very end, where we had a shot to pull out the win. I can promise you that those moments won't make our confidence waver for the next time we are down. Our team will continue to go all in on ourselves and each other, no matter the outcome from a prior game or weekend; because we know who we are, and what we are capable of doing.
For those who are watching our games, you are witnessing defining moments in our program. Let me tell you, what is going on internally is even more special.
Sincerely,
Sydney Supple #26