By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- There have been countless seasons played by numerous teams at Bridgewater State University through the years.
The 1994 Bears’ softball team came the closest to bringing an NCAA Division 3 championship back to the campus after advancing to the championship round.
Known as Bridgewater State College back then, the Bears set a program record for victories by going 39-8 and put together an amazing run that ended at the national tournament in Salem, Virginia.
After being a regular participant in the NCAA tourney, Bridgewater State emerged out of the Northeast Regional in Connecticut to a secure a first-ever trip to the College World Series.
The Bears dropped their first game in the double-elimination tournament, won three in a row to reach the championship bracket where they needed two victories, only to be edged by Trenton State (now The College of New Jersey).
“I’ll never forget just feeling we were right there and we knew we belonged with the best of the best,” said third baseman Jen Goodwin of Braintree, who has been the head coach at Yale University since 2013. “We were the blue-collar team and we were gritty and we could play.
“What a story. It was so much fun. We got on a little bit of a streak and kind of looked at each other like, ‘Wow, we’re pretty good.’”
That magical trip to the national title round recently earned a spot in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, the Bears becoming the third team selected for induction.
Bridgewater State joins the 1985-86 Salem State women’s basketball team that won the NCAA title and the 1980 Worcester State women’s basketball team that captured the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women crown.
The road to the College World Series had always been blocked by Eastern Connecticut State, which advanced out of the region to the nationals from 1982-92 and won four NCAA titles.
But the Bears broke through in 1994, going 3-0 at a regional held at Eastern Connecticut with two wins over Ithaca and one over Eastern Connecticut.
That sent Bridgewater State to Virginia as the newcomers to the national stage, but the Bears had a different mindset.
“I remember coach (Eastern Connecticut coach) Clyde Washburne, when we were waiting to play in the World Series, he gave me a lot of confidence in our ability to win the whole thing,” said former BSU coach Dee Dee Enabenter, who is in the MASCAC Hall of Fame. “He had been there many times before. Some of the things he told me to expect was don’t go in there expecting anything, just play and see how it shakes out.
“That’s exactly what we did. We had no idea about the competition, how good they’d be. When we were on that ride, we had no idea where we’d end up. We certainly played like we didn’t look at it like a mountain we had to climb. We just played and that’s what made it special.”
The Bears opened the tourney with an 8-7 loss to Trenton State on May 19, putting them instantly in the loser’s bracket in need of three wins in two days to make the final round.
Bridgewater State bounced back on May 20 with a 7-5 victory over Buena Vista of Iowa, scoring five runs in the second inning and getting a home run from Angela Constantine.
“We had a lot of talks after that first game,” said Goodwin, a three-time All-America. “A few of us said that if we win the next game, let’s shave the numbers in the back of our head.
“Six of us went to the barber in the mall and had that done after we won. I have some fun pictures of that. It’s one of those things we knew we could win.”
A day later, the Bears eliminated Rowan of New Jersey, 10-0, when Judy Gallagher and Sharon Martin of Stoughton combined on a four-hitter with Sue Bradford hitting a home run.
Bridgewater State then knocked off defending NCAA champion Central of Iowa, 1-0, when Gallagher gave up only four hits, sending the Bears to the championship round on a Sunday afternoon.
Since Trenton State (which finished the season 48-4) had not lost a game in the tourney, the Bears were in need of two wins for the national crown.
“I really thought we had a shot,” said Enabenter. “I knew we had it in us to win. I just didn’t feel we were under any pressure at any time. We didn’t look at it as a huge undertaking. We had played Trenton tough the first game.
“The All-American team had come out when we were down there we had only one player (Constantine) picked. I told the players that you don’t need a trophy to tell you how good you are. If they are going to overlook you, let them do that.”
In the final round game, Trenton State built a 4-0 lead before Bridgewater State rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth inning with Danielle England and Kristen Guerette getting the key hits.
But a two-run triple by Gretchan Herudek in the bottom of the six gave Trenton State a 6-4 lead. Bridgewater State was not done, threatening in the seventh inning.
The Bears scored a run and had the bases loaded with one out, only to have the next two batters make outs to end the best season in program history.
“One of those outs, a few inches left or right and we get the win and have a different feeling,” said Enabenter.
Goodwin, who was a sophomore that season, said she can still remember all the emotions that came after such a difficult loss.
“I’d say it was probably a rough summer for a lot of us right afterwards,” said Goodwin, who was later an assistant coach to Enabenter at San Jose State. “But I can look back and appreciate it as a coach now and remember the feeling, the gut-wrenching feeling. I can put myself right back onto that field and moment 26 years ago.
“When you’re teammates with people and have been through a special season like that, when you get back together it’s like you’ve never had any time apart. I feel for the kids going through everything with COVID and not having these bonds.
“We were locked in like no other team I’ve seen before. We knew we were good. We weren’t cocky about it. We knew we could play and we knew nobody could stop us. We had the offense and Judy Gallagher was a rock for us on the mound, especially in the postseason.”
Bridgewater State was 33-6 before getting to the postseason and had won another MASCAC title.
Constantine, the first baseman, earned All-America honors after setting program records with 71 hits and 66 RBI while Gallagher (25-4), Constantine, second baseman Janet Maguire (who would later coach the Bears) and Goodwin (10 homers) made the All-Northeast Region team.
Constantine, Bradford, Kristy Wilbur, Gallagher and Dee Walsh were selected to the all-tournament team at the nationals.
The Bears still own program records with 500 hits, 408 runs scored and 31 homers.
The rest of the lineup included Guerette at shortstop with Wilbur, Bradford, Lysa Stortz and Tracey Ullathorne in the outfield and Walsh the catcher. Also on the roster were Amy Parker, Tara Mendonca, Beth Amaral and Lori Medeiros plus reserve pitchers Martin and Amy Piccirillo.
The team was led by Enabenter, who moved on from Bridgewater State to coach at the Division 1 level at San Jose State and Brown University.
“Dee Dee was amazing,” said Goodwin, who batted .464 with 38 homers, 46 doubles and 200 RBI in her four years and is in both the MASCAC and BSU Hall of Fames. “Any other coach when you go to the national tournament is talking about the opponent and what it means where we are. She didn’t do that.
“She never pumped it up as being a big massive thing. She made us stay within ourselves. She said, ‘There’ll be a lot of hoopla, but I don’t care who we’re playing, let’s just go out and play like we know how to play.’”
That formula got the Bears within range of an NCAA championship in the program’s first appearance in the nationals.
“Our players were so mad after we lost,” said Enabenter. “In the team picture after the game, you can see on their faces the disappointment. It wasn’t like I’m glad I’m here and we came in second. They felt like they should have won.
“It was a great ride, but it wasn’t a feeling of unbelief that we could get there. I just thought we were in a good situation. Southeastern Massachusetts had a lot of good players in Division 3. That team was very upset we didn’t win.”
