Phoenix College softball team earns back-to-back NJCAA Division II national titles
The Phoenix College softball team won its second consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association Division II national championship to cap the 2022 season.
The Bears earned their 10th national title overall on May 29, in Oxford, Alabama. This one, however, had some unforseen obstacles.
After a three-day tournament delay due to rain, Phoenix had to find ways to keep motivated and create momentum. Coaches had to configure new schedules for practice times, extend their hotel stay, find new flights and follow protocols for players who became sick.
Through it all, they didn't lose sight of their ultimate goal.
“Bottom line is they are very well determined,” Phoenix College head coach Heinz Mueller said. “They knew what they needed to do and they did just that—despite all the obstacles. That is just their nature.”
To make up for lost time, the Bears would practice twice a day, and before the games even started. In the morning they would work out and again right before the game.
"I was anxious to get out there," Phoenix College pitcher Brianna Hardy said. "I told (the team) I would take a lightning strike just to play."
“I think the delays just fired us up more,” Phoenix College outfielder Ali Ashner said. “We were more motivated and determined to play and we knew when we played, we needed to make the most of it.”
Before every game, the women grab a ribbon and clip, and write on the ribbon what they wish to accomplish. For Ashner, who was named Player of the Year in NJCAA Division II softball, she simply wrote out, ‘One more, let’s go back-to-back.’
The Bears went 5-0 in the tournament, ending with a 13-5 win to seal the deal over Murray State College.
“They have gone down in the record books and they need to be proud of those accomplishments,” Phoenix College Athletic Director Kristine Kincaid said. “They are a part of history that (no) one can ever take away.”
So, what is the secret formula in winning back-to-back championships?
It is team chemistry, how much a player wants to achieve their goals or perhaps it is finding a pitcher like Brianna Hardy.
"My thing is, three up three down," Hardy said. "I have complete control of the game (and) I am the one that determines what way the game is going to go."
Hardy was named NJCAA Division II Pitcher of the Year. She earned Player of the Year in 2019 and Pitcher of the Year in 2021.
Hardy was the national tournament MVP this year and was a perfect 5-0. She pitched for five complete games and one shutout. Over her three seasons playing at Phoenix College, she has racked up 402 punchouts, 15 shutouts, 1200 strikeouts and has won 102 games, only losing three.
“Even four-year pitchers do not do what she did for us,” Mueller said. “...Her accomplishments are just unbelievable...it is crazy.”
Kincaid added: “Truly one of the most decorated athletes that will come from Phoenix College. A lot of people lose steam, but this young lady continues to have accuracy and have strikeouts.”
Although obtaining back-to-back national titles was a major accomplishment, Ashner said there is more than a title she'll take away from the season.
“They are my family forever,” Ashner said. “I could not have been where I am today without them...they have brought so much happiness and joy into my life (along) with memories and laughs—I will cherish them forever.”
Mueller, too, will forever remember this group.
“They just took the challenge,” Mueller said. “Young female athletes will take (a) challenge and work their butts off trying to accomplish it. We overcame everything in this tournament to win it and they were not denied. What else could a coach want?”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix College, NJCAA Division II, National Title, softball
