Janelle Boyd was willing to do whatever it took to get into Cornell University.
As a senior at Molloy she applied early and then applied normally. She called the process long and one that included writing essay after essay. In the end Boyd, who had caught the eye of Big Red softball coach Dick Blood, wasn’t accepted, but wasn’t rejected either. Instead she was given a guaranteed transfer if she earned her way academically into the Ivy League school.
Blood recommended Boyd go to Tompkins Courtland Community College in Dryden, N,Y. The school was just 11 miles from Cornell and Brent Doane, one of Blood’s former assistants, was the head coach there. He guided the Panthers to a NJCAA national championship in 2009.
“I’m glad I did it. It got my feet wet with being away from home,” Boyd said.
She didn’t just hold her own on the field and in the classroom, but excelled. The windmiller earned a 3.7 GPA, good enough to get her into Cornell next season, and helped lead the Panthers to a fourth-place finish in the NJCAA national championship tournament and a 34-10 overall record.
She finished the year with a 12-3 mark, a 2.64 ERA, struck out 88 batters in 98 innings and tossed 13 complete games. She batted .347 with 32 RBIs and was an All-Region and All-Tournament selection.
“It prepared me for where I’m going,” Boyd said. “It’s kind of like being in the minors then going to major leagues, instead of just jumping to the major leagues. It showed me that if you want to hang with these girls you are going to have to work a little harder.””
She got a chance to prove that first hand. Tompkins scrimmaged Cornell, the Ivy League champion, during the fall season and Doane made sure Boyd was in the circle. She said she held her own against a lineup she called mammoth, even working her way out of a based-loaded jam in one inning.
“I didn’t pitch a no-hitter or a perfect game or anything, but I really held them down,” said Boyd, who threw back to back shutouts to lead Molloy to a CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title as a senior. “That showed I can hang and that I belonged.”
It can only help her confidence when she joins the squad next season after it lost to No. 14 Oklahoma State in a NCAA regional. It’s easy to notice the excitement in Boyd’s voice when she talks about fulfilling her dream of attending and playing at Cornell. She speaks of the great education, the beautiful campus and things even as small as the menu.
“The cafeteria food is like the top in the nation,” Boyd said. “Coach Blood is an amazing coach and I can’t wait to [play for] him. … I’m just looking to a great experience all around. It’s a step up.”
Taking the necessary steps to ensure she got there – applications, essays, and a year at a community college — proved well worth it. It’s a path and an experience she would not change and one she believes will ultimately make the journey that much more fulfilling in the end.
“Now I feel way more prepared than if I went in as a freshman,” Boyd said. “It all worked out.”