When I worked at Manhattan, I worked with pretty much every team at some point, to varying degrees. But I always had a favorite. I technically wasn't supposed to have a "favorite" team, but everyone knew I did, and everyone knew who it was. Softball.
I'm not gonna get into all the reasons, but softball is when I was most in my element and I enjoyed myself the most. And they were always good too! I obviously wanted every team I worked with to win, but that was the one I really wanted. And the one I thought had the best chance.
We got close a few times. There was the year we tied for the regular season title, then won a 16-inning elimination game in the MAAC Tournament. There was the year we were in first place pretty much all season, only to end up third and lose in the tournament. There was the year we won 30 games, got the 2-seed and felt great going into the tournament...only to lose twice on the same day and go home.
Then there was 2014, which was, without question, the craziest and most exhilarating season I've ever personally been involved in. That was probably our best team, too. The Killer B's, Kate Bowen and Elena Bowman (I gave them that nickname). Jenn Vazquez. Amy Bright in the circle. We were the 6-seed in a six-team tournament and lost the first game. Then, after a ridiculous amount of rain over the next two days, didn't play again until Saturday morning...and won in extra innings! Right after that we played Marist, the No. 1 seed, and beat them 1-0 to move into the finals!
Even though we'd already played twice that day and the weather the next day was supposed to be beautiful, they decided that they were gonna play the championship on Saturday as scheduled and make us play a third game. Well, Dani-Girl Gabriel ended up pitching the game of her life! She retired the last 17 batters she faced, we won, and everybody had to come back on Sunday anyway. Unfortunately, that's when the magical ride ended. The NCAA Tournament was not in the cards that year.
After getting so painfully close, we all wanted it that much more. We kept getting close, but every season ended the same way. Without a ring. It was as frustrating as it was disappointing. I felt for each senior class who had given their all to the program, but graduated without that chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. Most importantly, I felt for my friend Tom Pardalis, who has built a tremendous program and deserved a championship.
One of the last events I covered as a full-time Manhattan College employee was the 2017 MAAC Softball Tournament up the road at Iona. It wasn't just my last chance to get a ring with softball. It was my last chance to get a ring period. (I traveled to a few NCAA Tournaments with Manhattan, but never for one of "my" teams where I was the direct contact.)
Last year at their fundraiser dinner (back when you could still have that sort of thing), Tom boldly predicted that they would win the MAAC that season. We, of course, know what happened to derail that prediction, so we'll never know if the Jaspers would've won the MAAC in 2020 or not. With most of that team coming back, though, (including Chrissy Gebhardt and Nicole Williams, who were seniors last year but decided to take advantage of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted everyone to come back and play as grad students) he was just as confident heading in 2021.
This season, through a series of circumstances, I ended up back working Manhattan softball games again. They had six home doubleheaders, and I was there for all six of them. It was like I had never left! Obviously it was vastly different than it had been in the past, but that didn't even matter. I'd forgotten how much I loved working with that team, even if my role was vastly different than it had been in the past.
The MAAC Tournament was different, too. Since so many teams had their schedules impacted by COVID postponements and cancellations, they expanded it to eight teams, with a best-of-three quarterfinal round. Manhattan was the 6-seed and went up the road to Iona, a team they had just gone 1-3 against to end the regular season, for the quarterfinals. They split on day one, but Nicole was her Nicole Best in Game 3 to advance.
Up next was the MAAC Tournament proper at Canisius. A win over Fairfield, a win over Marist, and suddenly Manhattan wasn't just in the championship round, it was the Jaspers who had the advantage as the undefeated team. That buffer wasn't even necessary! They were a team possessed. They kept adding tack-on runs and won 6-3. And suddenly, the wait was over. Manhattan was going dancing for the first time since 1999 and Tom finally had his championship!
While I'm not actively a part of the program anymore, I'm just as proud and happy about this championship as if I was. And I think I speak for the former players, too. We're so happy for Tom, Cat and all the players. We're proud to be a part of building the foundation, but I'll admit, also a little jealous that we don't get to be a part of it now! Just a little bit, though. Mostly, we're proud, happy, excited and thrilled!
Now they're off to Arkansas for the NCAA Tournament. Whether they win or not doesn't even matter. It was all about the journey. Getting there was the hard part. Now's the fun part. Playing a big time program on the national stage, with the game televised on SEC Network.
It sucks that I can't be there in person, but you know I'll be there in spirit. And you can bet I'm not the only one. All of the other alums will be watching, too, immensely proud of our team and relishing in the fact that they're playing in the NCAA Tournament! LET'S GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
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