When senior right fielder Sydney Harbaugh broke the Binghamton softball team’s record for career hits against Colgate last week, she had no clue about the feat she had accomplished until her teammates congratulated her.
“Going into the game, I honestly had no idea [I was on the verge of breaking the record],” Harbaugh said. “I just knew that I wanted to get a hit to score more runs because it was freezing cold out and we wanted to get the game over in five innings.”
Entering the first game of the Bearcats’ doubleheader against Colgate, Harbaugh trailed the 180-hit record set by Jessica Phillips in 2013 by just one. The record-setting hit came in the form of a two-out double to left-center field in the top of the fifth inning. Junior outfielder Gabby Bracchi scored on the play to solidify the Bearcats’ 8-0 victory.
Even after she was informed of her accomplishment, Harbaugh was more pleased with her team’s win than she was with her own feat.
“I was excited, I was proud, but I’ve never been one to gloat,” Harbaugh said. “I’m never going up there thinking, ‘Oh I need to do this for me,’ it’s always, ‘What can I do for my team in this moment?’”
With her fourth season as a Bearcat approaching an end, the senior from Cicero, New York, took some time to reflect on her career.
Inspired by her father’s love for baseball, Harbaugh always had a passion for the game. A three-time Section III all-star and a five-time all-league honoree, Harbaugh was a dominant infielder throughout her high school career. It wasn’t until BU head coach Michelle Burrell reached out to Harbaugh that she knew she would spend her following four years at Binghamton.
“As soon as I stepped on this campus and I met the coaches and team, it was a perfect fit and I knew that I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Harbaugh said. “By the end of that weekend on my official visit, I was committed.”
The transition from high school to college softball did not come without challenges for Harbaugh. As a freshman, Burrell encouraged Harbaugh to change not only her defensive position, but also her hitting style. Harbaugh was immediately moved from her comfortable position of shortstop and converted into an outfielder. Come sophomore year, Burrell encouraged Harbaugh to drop her role as a “slap hitter” and instead become a power hitter. In no time, Harbaugh went from swinging for singles to swinging for homers.
“It was the hardest thing I ever had to overcome,” Harbaugh said.
In a turning point contest against Syracuse that year, she struck out eight consecutive times.
“That pretty much felt like rock bottom to me,” Harbugh said. “It’s a game of failure and I failed a lot.”
Harbaugh went on to finish her sophomore season as the America East Player of the Year. As a junior, she hit three critical home runs in the conference playoffs to help BU win the AE title.
Now a veteran, Harbaugh is an invaluable asset to her team, currently batting .348, with 32 RBIs and nine home runs. Despite these individual achievements, Harbaugh attributes most of her success at Binghamton to the support system of coaches, mentors and teammates by her side.
“[Coach Burrell] always says that we need to play for one another,” Harbaugh said. “I wouldn’t have the success I have without my team.”
Reflecting on her time is at BU melancholy, as Harbaugh knows that career as a Bearcat is coming to a close.
“Being a senior is bittersweet,” Harbaugh said. “I know my time here is running out.”
Harbaugh claims that the idea of an end to 6 a.m. practices is appealing, but she knows she will eventually miss them. She hopes to continue to produce and give her team everything that she has left.
“I just want to leave it all on the field,” Harbaugh said. “That’s been my goal since I got here. Play the game I love and do it in the little time I have left.”