CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Freshman Jocelyn Lawrence stepped onto the diamond at Haines and Carolyn Hill Stadium in Dahlonega, Georgia, for her first college softball game after just five practices. She slid on her catcher's mask, crouched down behind the plate and caught every pitch thrown for two games – two games in the postseason.
 
"It's not every day you get to go to NCAAs and catch every single ball in every single game, and I didn't have to do anything for it," Lawrence said. "It [was] kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do this at this point."
 
A program-record 35-win season earned the Queens University of Charlotte softball team a berth in the NCAA Division II Softball Championships. But the long season had taken its toll on the Royals, sidelining several key players with injuries.
 
Four starters, including catcher Jordan Hunt, caught the bug. Head Coach Stacey Schramm was left with a dilemma, move a reserve infielder behind the plate and play without backups elsewhere, or plug-in Lawrence, a former high school catcher and Queens field hockey player who was not on the softball team's roster.
 
"She was my automatic go-to," Schramm said. "The timing of it was perfect because she had just come out to practice to see if she wanted to join the team next year. So as soon as Jordan [Hunt] went down, to me it was a no-brainer. It was our only option."
 
Lawrence enrolled at Queens in the fall 2017 semester with every intention of playing both field hockey and softball. However, after forming strong connections with her teammates during the field hockey season, Lawrence decided that dedicating herself entirely to one sport, at the time, was the best move.
 
"I had never really been a one-sport athlete and I wanted to see what my potential was on the field hockey field."
 
Come the end of the spring semester in May, Lawrence had plans of heading home to New Jersey for the summer. While out to lunch with her family, her phone rang. It was Schramm, calling to extend the offer join the Queens softball team for regionals.
 
"I think I was in shock for like 35 minutes," Lawrence said. "I couldn't even finish my lunch I was just so amazed that it could even happen."
 
Hesitant at first, Lawrence passed up Schramm's offer. Schramm asked Lawrence to reconsider.
 
"She specified my role as a voice on the field," Lawrence said of Schramm. "She made me feel like I was wanted and that the team would really appreciate it."
 
Before Lawrence called Schramm back with her final decision, she had to make one more phone call. This time to head field hockey coach Brandi Kist.
 
"She asked me 'Do you want to go? Does your heart want to go?'" Lawrence said. "I replied with 'Yes' and she said 'Then I think you know your answer.'"
 
Lawrence called Schramm back and accepted.
 
"When she said yes, I felt like we could go and represent in NCAAs now," said Schramm.
 
Her team was finally ready. Lawrence still was not.
 
Once Lawrence set her mind on playing, there was still one obstacle to overcome. She had already packed a moving truck to go home with her belongings tucked away and her sister Kayleigh's things in the way. If she was going to stay at school for another week, the move had to be undone.
 
"My softball bag was the farthest thing from the door. My socks and my cleats were just all the way in the back," she said before describing herself climbing through the truck. "I think I broke a sweat more than I did packing or even in certain exercises. It was the craziest thing."
 
In her first game, Lawrence went out and caught pitches from Courtney Pearson, the team's ace and an honorable mention all-conference selection. By Schramm's admission, the movement on Pearson's pitches makes her difficult to catch, especially for a catcher off of nearly a year-long hiatus. But Lawrence settled in. She caught every pitch for two games without making an error or allowing a passed ball. 
 
More so than anything else it was Lawrence's comfort level that impressed Schramm.
 
"At that position you need a communicator, you need someone who is going to take charge, and that's just who she is as a person," Schramm said of Lawrence before likening the catcher to the quarterback of the softball team.
 
For Lawrence, her newness to the team was a concern. She understood that as a late-season addition, her presence could be perceived as stealing a roster spot and playing time from others. Her concerns were quickly quelled.
 
"They were definitely welcoming," Lawrence said. "Courtney [Pearson] really came out of her way to make me feel comfortable. A lot of the girls knew I was in an uncomfortable position and were extremely welcoming to me. It wouldn't have been as enjoyable if they didn't show that to me."
 
The 2018 season marked the first NCAA postseason appearance for the Royals in eight years. The second week of May became a once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone involved.