Four years goes by in the blink of an eye. I can think back to the three senior days before me and always thinking that it felt so far away until it wasn't. As I walked on the field hand in hand with the two people who had never missed a game in my whole life and saw my entire family in the stands, my heart was overfilled with gratitude. You realize at that moment as a player that your softball journey is so much bigger than yourself, but it's a journey that countless others have taken with you. I will forever remain thankful for the thirteen-year-old me who chose a school that I knew was special, but now I can genuinely say how even more remarkable Northwestern has been. On Sunday, I was given a senior day that I will never forget.
From the weather delays to the comeback runs, watching my teammates embrace every condition that normally would make another team crumble, but instead, we used it to our advantage, attacking the other team harder and leading us to back-to-back Big Ten championships. Winning a ball game in that fashion doesn't come from being the most talented team. It comes from being the team with the most heart and maturity, which is why I will bet on us every day. The secret to winning is simple, you can show up to the field and try to be the best player on the field, or you can show up trying to be the best player for your team. Choosing the latter is what brings you celebration showers behind the locker room and more hardware.
Sunday was the day we walked off the field as champions, but the true champion that was recognized this weekend was Sharon Drysdale. For those of you who wonder who the field is named after, it is the legendary NFCA Hall of Fame Coach who built our program for twenty-three years as the head coach and continues to impact it to this day. Drysdale put our softball program on the map by capturing five league titles, being named Big Ten Coach of the Year three times, and making three consecutive College World Series Appearances from 1984-86. More importantly, Drysdale championed women and fought for women's rights in a time when people did not want to invest in women, even after the passing of Title IX.
Even after Drysdale handed off the reins to Kate, who has continued to grow Northwestern's legacy and honor the program's roots, Drysdale continues to come back and make an impact on our program and, specifically, this team. This past weekend we were able to have personal time with Drysdale as she stood in front of our team and explained her history, the program's history, and the similar traits she sees in our team from her teams back in the day. For us to understand who came before us and the battles that were fought by the women who wore the jersey all so we could live a better life now with better opportunities and resources brought a humbled perspective over all of us to never take anything for granted. When we put on our Northwestern jersey, we represent with pride every woman who has ever worn the jersey because each win is accomplished by us all.
To the legacy of Northwestern and every alumni who cheers us on in person or from the television, I am here to give you a sincere thank you for the road you built for us to walk upon. Kate always tells us to leave things better than we found and I give you our word that we are trying to leave this program even better for the ones to follow in our footsteps.
As we get ready to take the field at Rutgers we understand that there is one team that stands in the way of everything we have worked hard for to be the sole Big Ten Champions and hosting as many games at The J as we possibly can and we intend to leave it all on the field and take everything one pitch and one day at a time.
