TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Her road to a record-setting career didn't go exactly as planned, but Northeastern State University's Maddie Boyd wouldn't dare change a thing.
Boyd, a senior, has been a member of the NSU Riverhawks softball team for six years.
"It's kind of like a roller coaster, it's been back and forth a lot longer than I had imagined it would be," Boyd said.
She's been one of Division II's best hitters and is the first player in program history to record 200 career hits.
But her story goes far beyond any on-field accomplishment.
In 2017, her life changed forever. She learned she was pregnant, meaning her senior year would have to wait, and a very open conversation with coach Clay Davis would have to happen.
"I expected him honestly to raise his voice a little bit at me at first," Boyd said. "He was just very supportive and told me I would still be a part of the family."
Boyd's now two-year-old daughter is named Nevi.
"All of the thoughts went through my mind of how it was going to be, how difficult it might be, being a new mom, finishing school..." Boyd said
She says the best part of being a mother is to have someone who is happy to see her all the time, and to show her love all the time. "To hear 'momma,'" Boyd said.
In 2018, she met another roadblock.
She broke her wrist and dislocated her elbow, ending her season for the second straight year, still without the hit record.
But in 2019, she made another comeback, and got No. 200.
"I feel like the luckiest person, seeing her in the stands watching me play, it's pretty awesome," Boyd said. "I just hope she can push for her dreams and goals and never give up on them."
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