When freshman Ashley Gates decided to walk-on to the Northern Kentucky University softball this season the goals she set were a whole lot smaller than what she actually achieved.
"I just wanted to come in with a positive attitude and a mindset that I'd just be happy warming up pitchers," she said.
Gates did more than that, starting all 48 games NKU played and belting 11 home runs to set the single season school record.
She'll attempt to improve on that total as NKU begins play as the No. 6 seed in the eight-team double-elimination Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament beginning today at 11 a.m. against No. 3-seed Indianapolis in East Peoria, Ill.
Gates grew up in South Bend, Ind., but became a fan of NKU's team in 2004 and 2005 when it won NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional championships and advanced to the national finals. So when it came to choose a college, she spurned financial offers from a couple of junior colleges to walk on at NKU.
"I started looking at colleges back then and I tried to find what programs were promising and for some reason I found (NKU) and I just followed them and wanted to be a part of the program," she said.
NKU head coach Kathy Stewart said assistant Chip Gregg received a call from Gates' summer softball Coach Pete Gillis telling him of Gates' interest and because Gregg had a relationship with the coach he encouraged her to come.
"She played on Michiana Crusiers Gold a pretty good summer team and Chip felt like if she was good enough to do that she was good enough to least try to walk on," said Stewart.
Gates admitted she didn't know what to expect of the competition level, but once she began playing last fall her confidence level started to rise.
"There were a couple of times, where I was, like, 'Wow, this is going great,' and it kind of gave me a good idea over the winter what I needed to get done," she said.
Gates, an outfielder, earned an opening day start in left field and hasn't been out of the starting lineup since, although she has played much of the season in right field. She said it was sometime during the team's 12-game trip to Kissimmee, Fla., to play various teams in early March that she really started to believe she belonged.
