The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Columbia grad is thriving at Toledo
There is a stigma with junior college players in NCAA athletics, particularly at the Division I level.
Toledo junior Kailey Minarchick is working on changing that.
The Columbia High School graduate is letting her play on the softball field show even though her career started at Owens Community College in Perrysburg, she not only belongs in Division I, but is one of the best the Rockets and Mid-American Conference has to offer.
“I’ve gotten some of the JuCo comments,” Minarchick said. “I’m not really sure why there’s this idea that people who play at a junior college are automatically worse than someone who went D-I out of high school.”
While a member of The Express, the then-freshman was one of the top pitchers nationally in the NJCAA Division II. Minarchick was named the OCCAC Pitcher of the Year and finished the season with a 15-8 overall record and a 1.87 ERA.
Following her freshman year, Minarchick transferred to Toledo. Since then, Minarchick has continued to improve and thrive — while also proving some doubters wrong in the process.
“It’s a great feeling proving those people wrong,” Minarchick said of her success. “I’m just happy to have this chance and I’m really enjoying helping others. I like being a person that other JuCo athletes can look at when it comes to trying to find success in the NCAA.”
And, as Minarchick continues proving her doubters wrong, the Rockets have taken on her vendetta.
Voted by the MAC coaches to finish fifth in the six-team MAC West in the preseason poll, only one coach believed in the Rockets enough give Toledo a first-place vote to win the division. The Rockets also received one vote to win the postseason tournament.
Fast forward to May, and the Rockets are 15-5 in the MAC, holding a one game lead over Ball State for the West Division lead.
With three games over the weekend against Ball State on tap, the Rockets have yet to seal the division title, but Toledo has already claimed a top-four seed in the MAC Tournament, which will take place at Akron Firestone Stadium May 9-12.
“This is our revenge season,” Minarchick said. “We were one win away from the MAC tournament last year (when Toledo was 1113 in the MAC and lost the tiebreaker with Western Michigan for the No. 8 seed). We figured we would get some respect this season, but when we saw where we were in the preseason poll, it motivated us. We knew we had a good shot to make the tournament, and now everyone knows.”
“We are just a team that loves winning. We love winning so much that we hate losing. Like, it’s hard to explain, but when we lose, we can’t just let it go. It bugs us and we take it out on the next team.”
And as the Rockets succeed, so does Minarchick.
The former Raider ranks as one of the top pitchers in the MAC this season. Minarchick is second in wins (16) and saves (4), third in appearances (32), seventh in ERA (2.47) and opposing batting average (.250), and her 133.1 innings pitched ranks sixth. Additionally, Minarchick comes in at 13th in strikeouts (65) and sixth in strikeouts called (27).
“I just work hard,” Minarchick said of her increased success. “I want to be the best I can be, and the only way to achieve that is through working hard. It’s great to see it all paying off.”
With the MAC tournament on the horizon, Minarchick said her team is ready to make a splash.
“That’s the next step of the revenge season,” Minarchick said. “We made it in, now we want to win it all. Winning the MAC is always No. 1 on your to-do list. We put ourselves in a place where we didn’t have that shot last year. Now we do, and we’re going to take advantage of it.”
“I just work hard. I want to be the best I can be, and the only way to achieve that is through working hard. It’s great to see it all paying off.”
— Toledo junior Kailey Minarchick