The RedHawks continued their Mid-American Conference dominance, made another trip to the NCAA Tournament and stayed the course on maintaining heightened standards.
“Everything was against us,” Miami senior Jenna Golembiewski said. “We were doubted from the beginning.
“But to be here — to be where we ended — I wouldn’t want to go out any other way.”
The RedHawks went out as MAC regular season champions for a sixth straight season and MAC tournament champions for a fourth consecutive season. They suffered an 11-1 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes — led by former Miami coach Kirin Kumar — in a Knoxville Regional elimination game on Saturday.
“I just want to thank our fans and our support system, all of our amazing alumni, and obviously these three amazing seniors,” said Mandy Gardner-Colegate, who finished her first year at the Miami helm.
“The season didn’t end how I had hoped, but we had our ups and downs,” Gardner-Colegate added. “I’m really proud of this group for just their effort and their grit throughout everything.
“Just sad to see these three go.”
That’s Golembiewski, Chloe Parks and Shelby Kunkel.
Those are the three seniors who will move on from being the mainstays of a Miami softball program that had grown around them the past four seasons.
“The lasting memory of us three is that there’s three of us — and we started with seven,” Golembiewski said. “The fact that we’re the three sitting here at the end of the day, that means more to me than I can put into words. I wouldn’t want to do it without these two.”
“Walking into my freshman year, I would have never pictured that this would be how it ended with us three, but I’ve loved every second of it,” Kunkel added. “I’m so happy to have gotten to know these two. Off the field, they became my best friends.”
“We walked in with seven, and these were the three that decided to stay and help build Miami’s legacy,” Parks continued. “I would not have wanted to do it with anyone else. Even over the past two years, I got closer to these two than I probably ever was.”
Then there’s Gardner-Colegate, who entered the Miami softball scene when expectations were already high.
The first-year coach said she made an effort to continue to heighten them, and she did just that.
“Everyone kept saying that this was a rebuild, it’s a rebuild,” Gardner-Colegate said. “But rebuilding is sometimes taken so negatively, and it’s really a positive. These three seniors helped. The foundation was set. They expected this, and the foundation was basically already set. For us just to continue to build on that, we just have to continue to lay forth what the alumni have done for us.
“We weren’t picked to win the regular season. We weren’t picked to win the tournament,” Gardner-Colegate added. “I think that chip on our shoulder definitely elevated us and made us work a lot harder. Their work ethic, their attitudes, their togetherness.
“The fall was really hard. We had our ups and downs. When you have that many new pieces in the program, it’s hard to get everyone to gel. We worked really hard in the fall to make that happen.
“Once the season got rolling, I felt like we were meshing really well. We hit some kind of turbulent times.”
The RedHawks were 5-13 at one point.
“That’s tough,” the coach said. “They could have easily just rolled over and called it a bad season and been throwing our hands up in the air. But they didn’t. They worked harder, they put their nose down and just stuck to the course.”
Miami went on a 20-3 run, which ultimately led to another MAC regular season title and resulted in momentum heading into the conference tournament.
The RedHawks beat Ohio twice in the MAC championship game to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
“It’s just incredible,” Gardner-Colegate said. “It’s a testament to their hard work and their passion and just their love for the game.
“As a coaching staff, we were trying to figure out things and bring new ideas to practice — just trying to get out of that grind.
“Then we did, and that was really cool to see.
“We started MAC play really, really hot. And again, kind of go through a little bit of a lull. To get out of that as quickly as we did, good teams find a way to. We just had an absolutely stellar team. They were a great team, they were a championship team.
“I’ve told them before that championship teams aren’t born, they’re built. This team is a testament to that. They built this, and I’m just beyond proud, honestly. I can’t even put into words how proud I am of all 18 on the roster.”
Miami finished the season 36-26 overall and 20-7 in MAC play — including 15-3 at home.
And in the last game of their collegiate career sporting a RedHawks’ uniform, Golembiewski, Park and Kunkel each had a hit.
“I hope they think about a group of girls that just went out there and had fun, had a sisterhood and believed in everyone,” Parks said, aiming her message to future Miami softball players. “That is what we tried, and did, have with everyone. I think I hope they just remember that and just know this was a group of girls that wanted to go out and have fun and do what they loved doing.”
“Having fun and knowing that any goal is attainable,” Kunkel added while smiling at Parks and Golembiewski sitting to her right during a press conference after Saturday’s season-ending loss. “And not putting too much pressure on yourself. Fun is really the biggest thing, honestly.”
“I want them to look back and see that, when we were freshmen, we were told that the people in front of us built the program,” Golembiewski continued. “And if we could just look back on the three of us, we continued to build what Miami softball is.”
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