Maryknoll power hitter Nelly McEnroe-Marinas will soon be a Boomer Sooner

Tammy McEnroe had a way of living life to the fullest.

As a grandmother, she showed up ready to roar at Maryknoll softball games. Shortstop Nelly McEnroe-Marinas could hear her grandmother — “Tam Tam” — no matter where they played.

“She’s super loud and she doesn’t care. She’s always supporting me, just like my papa (Russell Gomes),” McEnroe-Marinas once said.

Games got quieter after McEnroe-Marinas’ grandma died last year. Tammy McEnroe got to see her granddaughter win a state championship, ascend to the highest of heights as a standout shortstop with a commitment to national champion Oklahoma.

McEnroe-Marinas made it official in November, signing with the Sooners, a team led in recent years by former Campbell standout Jocelyn Alo, who now plays professionally for the Oklahoma City Spark. McEnroe-Marinas and the OU staff have built a solid bond.

“Before the season, we would talk quite a bit. I don’t really bother them during their season. They’re busy and traveling, but offseason, we talk quite a bit,” McEnroe-Marinas said. “With the community and the girls there, I’ll feel fine, but living on my own, that’ll take time.”

The hours and miles are countless. McEnroe-Marinas was 4 when she started playing tee-ball.

“I broke my finger a couple of years later and I went to soccer,” she said. “I didn’t want to play softball at all.”

When she was 11, that changed.

“My mom just told me to play one season. She wanted me to play, and my papa and grandma. So I said, one more season, and I started to like it and I kept playing,” McEnroe-Marinas recalled. “I liked the friendships I made and how close I got to people I played with.”

McEnroe-Marinas has a lot fondness for her old stomping grounds at Makaha Elementary and St. Francis School.

“We were super-duper fortunate because St. Francis closed at the end of her eighth grade year,” Spartans coach John Uekawa said. “She has been unbelievably good since freshman year.”

Now, Shanelle Gomes-McEnroe drives her daughter to Maryknoll’s campus in Makiki. Some days, it’s her father, Brian Marinas, who starts the trek from Waianae, picks up McEnroe-Marinas in Waipio, and drops her off at school.

Emotion and sentiment, though, continued to tug at her. That’s why McEnroe-Marinas considered transferring to Waianae during the offseason. One of her old friends is catcher Braiesey Rosa, who signed with Oregon. When pitcher Jerzie Liana and outfielder Moani Ioane of Kapolei — both All-State selections — transferred back to play for the Seariders, McEnroe-Marinas felt the itch to go back to her hometown and suit up for the blue and red.

On National Letter of Intent signing day last November, she confirmed that the move was a go. She would live with her father and join what could be one of the most loaded teams in the history of the OIA West. Her father was stoked, but mom was reticent for a couple of weeks, McEnroe-Marinas said.

In the end, McEnroe-Marinas stayed with the Spartans.

“There were some complications with the ILH-to-OIA thing. There were too many obstacles,” she said. “It is what it is. I’m happy where I’m at. I would’ve been happy either way.”

For his part, Uekawa gave his senior standout his support. No matter what, Uekawa, now in his 17th season as head coach, and, the Maryknoll softball family would always consider McEnroe-Marinas one of their own. If there are any lingering feelings of hurt in the Spartans’ ohana, it hasn’t shown. She never left Maryknoll, but would things still be the same for the defending state champions?

“It wasn’t uncomfortable. Everyone was just excited I was staying,” McEnroe-Marinas said.

Rosa is one of McEnroe-Marinas’ oldest friends in the sport.

“The first time I met Nelly, we were at a softball practice and I didn’t know anyone, but she is so kind that she introduced herself to me and we became friends so quickly. I remember her being a nice, sweet girl, but also being a beast on the field,” Rosa said. “It meant a lot to have each other to talk to whenever we needed each other. Our dads are also best friends and we have so many memories of the four of us having fun together. She will always be there for the people she loves, and she’ll always look for the good in people.”

In the offseason, McEnroe-Marinas is in the weight room six days a week, focusing on reps more than max numbers, though her max bench press is 135 pounds and her max squat is 235 — both very respectable.

On the diamond, she has wowed onlookers from Hawaii to the continent, playing with the Firecrackers club program. When college coaches could finally offer scholarships to McEnroe-Marinas on Sept. 15, 2021, the phone started ringing at midnight and didn’t stop until past 3 a.m.

Oregon called first.

“It was Melyssa Lombardi at exactly midnight. Once I answered, multiple calls came. She was standing in the middle of their softball field and FaceTimed me,” McEnroe-Marinas said later that day.

Then came calls from Texas A&M and Oklahoma. By the time she went to bed, 14 schools had contacted her. McEnroe-Marinas’ mother handled some of the calls. She took a screen shot of the calls and sent it to her dad.

At a young age, McEnroe-Marinas has a knack for planning. As a sophomore, her Thursday class schedule didn’t start until noon, which meant early-morning scholarship offers from many of the nation’s top programs didn’t alter her sleep time significantly.

With a grade-point average of 3.7 and stellar play on the summer circuit, the early offers were no surprise. Her junior season was Richter-scale status. McEnroe-Marinas batted .571 (32-for-56) with an on-base percentage of .619, slugging percentage of 1.089, 27 RBI, 29 runs scored, six home runs and two stolen bases.

After batting third and then second in the lineup last year, McEnroe-Marinas is the leadoff hitter for Uekawa this spring. So far, so good. She is hitting .750 through preseason. That included a 3-for-3 performance against Campbell ace Taryn Irimata.

“She threw curveballs, riseballs,” McEnroe-Marinas said. “I didn’t get any insides.”

Uekawa made a practical move.

“The bottom line is, leading off, you can get the most at-bats. That’s what she is. Never in the 17 years I’ve coached, and I’ve coached some very good players, never had a player like her. The clutch times when everything’s on the line, who would (you) want up? She’s a specimen, constantly lifting or swinging the bat. That’s the difference between good and great,” he said.

With her power and skill, it could be an astronomical season statistically. Or it could be a stupendously outrageous outlier like the one Alo had for Campbell, when she walked 46 times and was rarely pitched to.

The consistency in the classroom and weight room are matched by McEnroe-Marinas’ talent as a leader.

“She has a quiet confidence. She might be externally very positive, but internally, she has a mean fighting desire, and very humble,” Uekawa said. “If you listen to her in the dugout, she’s so encouraging. We had seven (seniors) graduate, so Nelly, Jenna (Sniffen) and I’ve got to fill the void.”

In one preseason game, McEnroe-Marinas launched a pitch over the left-field fence at the Spartans’ home field.

“Our fence is 206 feet (from home plate), and because of the height you have to hit it around 220 feet to clear,” Uekawa said. “There’s a tree that’s maybe 12 feet behind it. She hit a ball midway through that tree on the fly. You’re talking about any stadium, in the wind, whatever, in the blink of an eye. She has extreme power, always clutch.”

That rare quality, the constant drive to get better every day, is what she has lived unceasingly.

“I made some tiny adjustments with my swing. Coach Henson (Thomas) has been tweaking my swing a little bit and it feels more comfortable now,” McEnroe-Marinas said. “It was for more consistency, getting to the outside pitch.”

With returning All-State Pitcher of the Year Sniffen — the top ace of the 2022 state championships — and a core of new, young starters, there is no time to waste. Maryknoll opens its ILH regular season with a home game against Kamehameha on Wednesday afternoon. The Warriors have been outstanding in preseason.

“Kamehameha went to 0-0 ties with Campbell twice,” Uekawa noted.

All four ILH Division I teams are in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. Only two will qualify for the state tournament.

“I feel like this season is more personal for us. We have a target on our backs, but we’re not too worried,” McEnroe-Marinas said. “We’re more focused on ourselves than anybody.”

NELLY MCENROE-MARINAS

Maryknoll softball • Senior

>> Did you know: Her first name, Nellian, is a combination of her parents’ names — Brian and Shanelle.

Gear

>> Bats: “I use a Easton Ghost 2020 and a Meta. I use both of them. The Meta is the same size. I got it because my travel team (Firecrackers) is sponsored by them. 34/24 -10. This time I have four cracked Metas in a year and a half.”

>> Glove: “Wilson A2000. I just got the new one a couple of months ago. My new one is black, red and beige. The Easton glove, the pocket is like an outfielder’s glove. But it’s customized and has my name on it.”

Favorites

>> Top 3 pitchers I’ve faced: “Taryn (Irimata of Campbell), for sure, Jerzie (Liana of Waianae) and Ua (Nakoa-Chung, former Maryknoll player). I feel like it’s always harder to hit against your own teammate (Nakoa-Chung).”

>> Top 3 movies/shows: 1. “Real Steel,” 2. “Criminal Minds,” 3. “Vampire Diaries”

>> Top 3 food/snacks/drinks: 1. Taco Bell steak burrito, 2. kal bi (L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, Waianae), 3. Nestle Toll House raw cookie dough

>> Top 3 homemade foods: 1. Mom’s fried rice, 2. Mom’s chow fun, 3. lumpia “My boyfriend’s parents make lumpia only on special occasions.”

>> Top 3 music artists (and your favorite song by each): 1. Nicki Minaj (“Pills N Potions”); 2. Bryson Tiller (“Don’t”); 3. Luke Combs (“Forever After All”)

>> Favorite class: Physical education, seventh grade, St. Francis

>> Favorite teacher: Mr. (Greg) Nakamura, fifth grade, Makaha Elementary “When I was first getting into softball he would always come out to my games and ask me about softball and my family. I went back to Makaha a month or two ago to see if he was still there, but he wasn’t there. I couldn’t find him.”

>> Favorite athlete/team: Oklahoma, Alisa Ocasio. “She’s in the pros now. She’s an all-around player. Pitches, she can hit, plays the middle.”

>> Funniest teammate: Marley Spencer. “She’s always cracking jokes. She’s so funny.”

>> GPA: 3.7

>> Time machine: “I would go 10 years into the future and see what my life is like.”

>> Hidden talent: “I can hold my breath for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. I just like to swim a lot.”

>> New life skill: “I learned more about (weight) lifting.”

>> Bucket list: “I want to travel to the Bahamas. It seems so pretty. The next place is the Favelas. It’s in Brazil. It seems like a scary but fun experience.”

>> Shoutouts: “My mother and my father, of course. Jesus Christ, my Lord and savior. My grandma, Tam Tam (McEnroe), she passed away on Sept. 9. Shoutout to my grandpa (Russell Gomes). And my coaches.”