Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nicholls State University Athletics, in conjunction with the Southland Conference, announced on March 14 all remaining competitions and championships for the 2020 season would be canceled.
Women's tennis, men's tennis, baseball, softball, outdoor track, and beach volleyball all had their seasons cut short and with that, several seniors did not have the opportunity to finish their athletic careers as Colonels.
Nicholls will honor the seniors who have decided to end their athletic tenures for the Red and Gray.
Mallery Marino
Sport: Softball
Hometown: Richmond, Texas
Major: Allied Health Pre-Professional
Graduation Date: May 2020
Marino came to Nicholls in 2018 after playing one year at Ranger College. In her three years with the Red and Gray, she started in 12 of her 73 games played and was the team's primary pinch runner. Marino totaled 24 runs scored, five hits and four RBIs. She also had five stolen bases and three walks. In the Colonels' 2018 championship season, she was tied for eighth on the team with 14 runs scored.
Q&A
What are your plans after graduation?
I plan on moving to New Orleans to begin working with an OT program and start applying for graduate school.
How did you initially feel when your season was canceled, and how do you feel about it now?
I was hurting, I didn't understand. I actually thought at one point... out of all the years, why my senior year? The year I've worked up to my whole life and expected to be the best, last year of my softball career. I soon came to terms with it and I know everything happens for a reason and one day I'll know why.
What made you decide to come to Nicholls?
I went to school at Ranger, which was my freshman year of college and I was five hours away from any family. When I got an offer from Nicholls, I was very happy because I was born in Louisiana before I moved to Texas in first grade and all my family still lived here. I came to Nicholls for softball because I wanted to be closer to family and I wanted to make an impact and help build the program.
What is one of your favorite memories during your time as a Colonel?
My favorite memory with Nicholls Softball would have to be when Caitlin Garcia hit her first ever grand slam in the conference tournament against McNeese. Everyone put me in the corner because when I wasn't looking, she would always get a hit. So I said if she hits it out y'all have to carry me to home plate. Well, I heard it touch her bat and I immediately started running to home plate before it was even out. I actually peed myself a little because I was so excited and happy for her.
What will you miss most about playing softball?
I will miss the team atmosphere and competition the most. God has a crazy way of bringing a group of people together to compete, it is amazing to get to be apart of. After playing the game for so long it's hard to find that anywhere else.
What was your favorite class at Nicholls?
My favorite class would have to be musculoskeletal evaluations. It's taught by Mrs. Plaisance and she made it very fun to learn about every single bone and muscle in the body.
Where was your favorite place to eat?
I don't have a specific favorite but some places I loved to eat where Kampachi, Athenos, and Salad Station.
If you could go back and give yourself advice before you started college, what would you tell yourself?
If I could go back and tell myself something before I started college, it would be to not take a second for granted. So many days I was so tired and sore from constant workouts, practice, and school, but I would take that any day over having to adult... that's a whole different kind of tired.
Is there anyone you'd like to thank?
I'd like to thank some of past coaches. Eddie Sesum, thank you for believing in me and giving me the knowledge you have about the game because it is incredible. Christy Conor, thank you for doing everything you can for me and pushing me everyday in life and in softball. Katie Spencer, thank you for helping me get to college... and helping me perfect my craft every day. Pasqual Mata, Robert G & Nicole Burton, thank you for teaching me how to be an all-around athlete and how to work hard. Miranda Szink, that you for coming in and believing in me and making my senior year of high school the best. Jeff Jackson, and of course my Nicholls coaches, Monica Meadows, Jessica Seamon, and Angel Santiago. Thank you guys for pushing me throughout college and working with me everyday to finish off my years as an athlete. It's a long list, but these are coaches that have really impacted my life throughout my softball career. Each of you have taught me something about the game, life, and myself that I will never forget.
To my parents and my brother and sister, thanks for keeping me sane, for pushing me when it was needed, and loving me through it all. I thank God for each of you and all that you've done and still do for me. I love you guys.
To all my family members who stuck it out to come watch me play, fed me, and helped me get here. Thank you so much!!!!!
To all of the girls on the teams I've ever been on, thanks for all the successful times. Thank you for all the adversity, and thank you for the memories that I'll remember forever.
And lastly, I want to thank God for giving me a path to follow and walking with me everyday. My faith has grown more and more each year and without him, I am nothing.
And without any of you, I wouldn't be able to write this today or be where I am... so it's because of you guys and I give all the credit to you.
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For more information on Colonel Softball, follow the team on Twitter (@Nicholls_SB).
