The final out of Sydney Grein’s senior season has been recorded.
Ohio fell short in the MAC Tournament to end its season without a conference title for the sixth consecutive season. With every passing season and year, players are bound to leave due to graduating or transferring. That is the nature of collegiate athletics. One of the players who will not be there next season for Ohio is Grein, one of the mainstays on the team with her consistent play.
Even if her career with Ohio is over, that should not diminish what Grein has done in Athens. Grein saw sparse playing time in her first two seasons with Ohio, but upon being paired with Ohio coach Jenna Hall, Grein was a regular in the lineup and hit .281 in her junior and senior seasons. Her numbers look nearly identical over the two seasons with four doubles and three home runs each season.
Solid play aside, Grein has persevered through some of the ups and downs that come with being a collegiate athlete. Grein saw her playing time decrease in the middle of the season. That alone would be enough to discourage anyone, but not Grein. She made sure that her mindset did not change and continued to improve to regain her starting spot at shortstop for Ohio.
“I always finish the day and see what my strengths were and what my weaknesses were," Grein said. "That’s what it has always been whether I’m playing or not: What can I do to keep getting better? Even when I have good days, there is always something small (to improve)."
Grein has never shied away from a challenge. That can be seen in her play as well as her aspirations off the field. Grein recently received her degree in nursing, a challenging feat for any student, let alone a student-athlete. Her level of focus to compartmentalize is not just something that Grein uses to thrive on the field, but also in the classroom.
Her insatiable “how can I get better” attitude might be the catalyst of her success at Ohio, but sheer determination is how Grein was able to get to the point where she stands out. As her career wearing the green and white comes to a close, Grein’s contributions will not simply end here. She was as reliable as any to make the right play and deliver in critical situations.
This was seen particularly throughout one weekend, April 20 through 21. With Ohio trailing in the bottom of the 7th, the team was able to tie the game, sending it to extra innings. There, Grein capped off a heroic performance by the team with a walk-off home run. The next day, with Ohio looking at a potential series victory, Grein stepped up again with a home run as Ohio defeated Western Michigan and would later be one of the main reasons Ohio claimed the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament.
After her incredible performance that weekend, Grein attributes her success to confidence and energy, knowing her teammates had her back. If it was not for her coming up with the heroic plays, she would never feel the need to walk away from home plate with her head low.
"When any one of us hits a home run or even just gets a hit off a pitcher, it's just confidence that all of us can do the same thing," Grein said. "It's just contagious; the energy that comes from those hits that we all get, it just spreads."
If there is one thing Grein hopes to leave behind, it is her attitude towards being an athlete in general, encouraging other athletes to put themselves first and realize that they are human.
“You are always going to be your hardest critic and your hardest competitor,” Grein said. “I think college athletes are really hard on themselves and forget that we’re more than athletes. It’s definitely just seeing the worth in yourself and always giving yourself grace.”
Sydney Grein might have walked off the field for the final time as a Bobcat, but that does not mean her impact on the program will end too. She has been integral in showing her teammates how to play the game and put one’s best foot forward.
