Morgan Ryan and Jenna Osikowicz started playing softball together as young girls. They continued through travel ball, Little League and at Hempfield, where they helped to make the Spartans one of the best teams in the state.

Now, the pair is finishing their playing days together. Ryan, after spending four seasons playing at Notre Dame, is using her final year of eligibility with Osikowicz at Seton Hill and contributing to a team that has aspirations of winning the PSAC title.

“It’s very bittersweet,” Osikowicz said. “We both know that softball is coming to an end. To be able to end our careers together … there’s no words to describe that feeling.”

Long before the NCAA granted athletes an extra year of eligibility because of the effects of the pandemic, Ryan, a sophomore at Notre Dame at the time, started looking for schools where she could complete her post-graduate work. A pre-med major, Ryan had an eye toward becoming a physician’s assistant. Playing softball beyond her four years with the Fighting Irish never crossed her mind.

Then came the perfect storm: the extra season of eligibility awarded by the NCAA, the existence of an accredited PA program at Seton Hill and, after a chat with coach Jessica Strong, an opportunity to join the Griffins softball team.

“The pieces just fell into place,” Ryan said, “and I kind of came full circle. I get to start my career at home, finish my career at home. It wasn’t anything I had in the works for years. It was just an opportunity I decided to take.”

Ryan, perhaps not surprisingly, has been a key player for the Griffins, who are 14-3. Through Saturday, she was hitting .385 (10 for 26) and, as a pitcher, was 4-1 with a 0.96 ERA.

In Friday’s 1-0 win over Malone, Ryan pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts, and, perhaps fittingly, Osikowicz provided the only run with a solo homer.

Swinging the bat is something Ryan rarely got to do at Notre Dame. She had only 15 at-bats over her four seasons, going 5 of 15 with a pair of RBIs.

In her primary role as a pitcher, Ryan tossed 1112⁄3 innings in 61 appearances (eight starts) over her four seasons, going 6-5 with a 2.32 ERA and four saves.

But despite her experience playing at a Division I program, Ryan had some concerns about joining an established team. She didn’t come on board until January, after the current Griffins group already had gone through fall workouts together.

But the transition turned out to be seamless. Ryan said she felt welcomed by all the players.

Strong said Ryan, indeed, has been a welcome addition.

“I truly feel the greatest dynamic Morgan has really lent to our team is being a sound and very mature individual as a whole,” the fourth-year coach said. “She’s been through the ringer (at Notre Dame) in regard to that mental and physical fortitude and has embraced that as she grew.”

Ryan said her years at Notre Dame taught her how to be a great teammate. Accustomed to pitching almost every inning through her middle- and high-school years, she had to adapt to a new role and sacrifice some of her personal goals for the team.

“I knew things were going to be different,” she said. “It was a little bit of a reality check. You really have to have that (pitching) rotation, so I was thrown into a different type of role. But it really helped overall because I really learned how to be a great teammate.

“We’re all really competitive (on the Seton Hill pitching staff), and we all want the ball and we all want to pitch, which definitely makes the rotation hard. But we all work really well, and I’ve tried to do my part to stay positive and cheer on whoever is on the field because their success is the team’s success. It’s not about us. It’s about the team.”

Ryan’s current team, she believes, can make a run at the conference title. The Griffins qualified for the PSAC title series for the first time last season and lost in two straight to West Chester. Several players are back from that team — including Osikowicz, who hit .411 with 14 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs — and were joined by some promising, new players.

Perhaps the final hurrah for Ryan and Osikowicz will result in one more piece of hardware they can add to their, WPIAL, PIAA and travel ball medals.

“She’s definitely a leader,” Osikowicz said. “She always instills the positive. She always reminds us of our purpose, too. She’s always a positive person.”

Said Ryan: “I’m really not setting any expectations for myself. Just going out, having fun, smiling through everything — the good and the bad — and just cheering everyone on.”

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