EL graduate Nicole Keene closes out her pitching career with several records at Bryant College.

There would be time to reminisce and reflect later. The last thing Nicole Keene wanted to dwell on was that it could be her last game.

As she took the mound in the Northeast-10 tournament game, she wasn’t thinking about the possible end. Maybe it was the confidence in her team. Maybe it was her competitive nature. Maybe she was just focused on moving forward and not looking back.

As it turned out, it wasn’t the end for Keene and her Bryant College softball team that day. Keene fired her fourth career no-hitter and helped her team win its first-ever conference tournament game just over a week ago. The Bulldogs subsequently earned a spot in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regionals that were played this past weekend.

“I never really had the feeling that it would be my last game,” said Keene. “Deep down, I knew we could make it to the regionals.”

Bryant was eliminated Friday night in the second round of the regional tournament.

Getting to this point is something Keene and her teammates have yearned for. When she went to Bryant after her stellar career at Edward Little, she knew it was an uphill climb to get to the playoffs, but finally, in her last season, they were hosting the regionals this weekend. The team’s 26-18 record is one of the best in school history.

Keene says the team was “beyond excited” about such an accomplishment. The program had won four games the year before she arrived. Her freshman season the team won 14 games. They’ve been knocking on the postseason door ever since.

“To be in this position is an unbelievable turnaround,” said Keene, one of three senior captains. “We stayed with the program when it wasn’t the coolest thing to do. We stuck with the young team. We worked hard and the young team followed along.”

Though Keene’s role in that success is obvious, she deflects any credit and admits no responsibility. She praises the work of coach Lisa-Ann Wallace instead.

“I came into the program knowing it was weak, but I also knew we were getting a new coach and she had turned the program around at Fitchburg State. She’s done a great job with all of us. She’s an awesome coach. Coming in my freshman year, I wanted to make NCAAs, and she helped make that happen. It’s been everything I ever dreamed of.”

Of course, Keene has played a significant role, even if she tends to downplay it.

She holds just about every pitching record. This year she’s been chasing her own records. She entered the year already holding the school mark for career wins (28), innings pitched (427.2) and strikeouts (283). She also holds the single season records in innings pitched (191) and strikeouts (108).

She’s only been adding to those totals. She was just 11 shy of breaking last year’s strikeout record and 20 short of 400 overall entering the regionals.

“I don’t really look at the individual stuff,” said Keene, who is also one of the squads top hitters with a .279 average and was second in the conference with 13 steals. “I just worked as hard as I could to get my team to go as far as I can.”

When asked which milestone stands out the most, her selection is based more on what it meant for the team. That 5-1 no-hitter against Pace in the conference tournament was her 40th win overall and set a new record for most in a season.

“This year in the game against Pace, I picked up my 12th win of the season,” said Keene. “That broke the school record and that got us into the next game of the Northeast 10. That was a big win for me, but it also helped my team continue to play.”

As she scrambled to finish up schoolwork before this weekend’s tournament began, she admitted she was ready to move on from college life but giving up softball wasn’t going to be easy.

“On the school side, I’m ready to be done,” she said. “I’m feeling a little drained but softball, I don’t want to think about that yet. That’s going to hit pretty tough.

“The girls will be missed. I’ve found some of my best friends ever here. We’re very close.”

She’s been a pitcher since she was youngster and competitive softball has been a key part of her life for the last decade. Now she’s about to trade in her bat and glove for a resume and a new career. Her intention is to return to Maine and look for a job in business, finance or real estate. She admits she may find her way back to the game eventually.

“It’s been nice down here in Rhode Island, but I call Maine home and that where I want to be,” she said. “At some point, I think I’ll try my hand at the business world and if it works out, maybe pick up a high school coaching job.”

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