By Alexandria Webb
Grand Rapids Community College women’s softball team has made history once again. GRCC took first place in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 Great Lakes District B Championship Tournament, defeating Lake Michigan College 6-1.
This secured the Raiders a spot in the NJCAA Division II World Series Tournament, which has not happened since 1998. The Raiders will roll into nationals with an overall season record of 41-8 (23-2) in conference play. Head Coach Chuck White has always believed this team has everything it needs to win.
“I told them right from the start that this team had a chance to do what they did, and they did it,” White said. “We just try to focus on winning all the time, and just doing things the right way. And if we do things the right way, we tend to win more games than we lose.”
Freshman Thirdbaseman Tia Schone shared similar thoughts regarding the regional win.
“It was really exciting. This team had the will and belief to do it, and we were just so excited that we were able to put all the pieces together and have a great day, (We) pushed through some difficulties, some errors, and everything. We were just so excited it was us,” Schone said.
Freshman Pitcher and Infielder Megan Lillie had an opportunity to make her mark in the regional tournament as she closed out the championship game, pitching.
“Then we pitched Megan Lillie, a freshman in a championship game…she hadn’t played the previous two games, she didn’t get in. I trust(ed) her, and she got the job done, and it’s a great experience for next year.,”
As a freshman, the pressure looms in the background, as Lillie knew the weight this game carried.
“…When you look at last year’s records, everyone had, like, all conference or something like that. So coming in this big of a team, you didn’t know, and especially (as) a freshman, you’re not going to get automatic playing time. So I was very grateful for what I got,” Lillie said. “I was nervous throughout the whole thing, but after it was just so relieving, being able to complete everything was so accomplishing.”
Lillie is so far undefeated as a pitcher, becoming the only pitcher in the region to go with 10 wins and zero losses, and now with a regional championship win under her belt.
Lillie recalls how this moment felt. “It was amazing. It was so relieving with all the work that our team has put in.”
Freshman Shortstop Kenady O’Leary hit a two-run home run in the championship game, adding to an already special moment in her softball career.
“There were a lot of emotions. I’ve never made it past, like a pre-district game in high school. To be in that type of environment was really cool,” O’Leary said.
As GRCC makes its first appearance at the NJCAA Division II World Series in 30 years, Schone expresses her thoughts going into it.
“It’s unreal, truly. Coach told us at the beginning of the season that this team has the will and the skills to do it, the talent to do it, and we just kind of all believed it. We worked so hard, we all pushed each other,” Schone said. “Being on a squad of…18 and then having multiple kids at different positions, it just pushed us all to be so much better…this has been such a huge team effort.”
O’Leary is focusing on bringing this positive moment with them.
“That’s awesome, I would like to take that and bring it with us as a motivator, to make it as far as we can,” O’Leary said.
Although the Raiders will enter the NJCAA nationals tournament as a 16th seed, if the Raiders win their intro game against 17 seed, Bryant & Stratton College of Wisconsin, they will face the number one seed, Kirkwood Community College of Iowa.
“We’re feeling confident, our region doesn’t get a lot of credit, because we don’t play ranked teams during the season. We got a lower seed, but I understand that,” White said. “We are going to have to beat some really good and some high-seed teams, if we want to do anything, that’s what we plan on trying to do.”
Schone expressed her thoughts on finding out about the final seed decision.
“We kind of got screwed over. We got to take on the number one seed after we take our intro game. I think our goal is just to show them that someone has to beat the number one seed. As Chuck likes to say, “Someone’s got to beat it, so might as well be us”,” Schone said. “If we want to win the whole thing, we might as well beat the number one seed, take them out. In sports, you don’t know what’s coming out. We haven’t been there in 30 years.”
Despite the opposition the Raiders face, they enter the tournament with a positive attitude.
“I feel like since we earned this spot, we’re not even stressed. It’s a good thing cause we’re excited to go, but we’re not worried,” Lillie said.
The Raiders will travel early Saturday morning to Spartanburg, South Carolina. On Tuesday, May 19, at Tyger River Park, the Raiders will take on Bryant & Stratton at 11 a.m.
Since this is an NJCAA-hosted tournament, the Raiders will not have their regular live feed on YouTube, yet fans can watch for play-by-play updates on GameChanger. For those interested in watching the tournament, there is the NJCAA Network that is available for a fee.
