With Tuesday’s practice over and most of the Northwestern softball team heading to the showers, four teammates stayed on the field, laughing and tossing around a mini-football.

But these aren’t renegade freshmen.

To NU coach Kate Drohan, these are the four undisputed leaders of the team.

“When I took over at the beginning of the year, I decided there would be no captains,” Drohan said. “The four seniors are our leaders, and they complement each other really well. I like them more because they’re so different.”

When the Wildcats play their last home game of the season Sunday against Iowa, seniors Erin Jancic, Katie Gross, Gretchen Barnes and Rane Gunderson will have to say goodbye to Sharon J. Drysdale Field.

But they don’t want to talk about how emotional it’s going to be – they would rather talk about each other.

“I can’t even describe what each of these girls means to me and the team,” Barnes said. “We all started out young. Most of us were shy, and some of us competed for positions against each other. But we’ve all meshed together.”

Despite the amicable relationship among the four, they’re not all similar.

They come from different parts of the country – Gunderson from Minnesota, Barnes from Illinois, Gross from Iowa and Jancic from Texas.

Barnes likes to hit home runs – she holds the all-time NU record – and can play four positions, while Gunderson, Gross and Jancic have hit a combined 10 career home runs and rarely leave the outfield.

Barnes, Gross and Jancic are all about the same height. And then there’s Gross, who at 5-foot-2 is about half a foot shorter than the rest of the pack.

One of the four didn’t even come to NU on scholarship.

Gunderson joined the team in 1999 as a walk-on and saw limited time as a pinch-runner. But after becoming a starter the following season, she has stayed in the everyday lineup.

“Coming in, I knew I had to work harder than all the others,” Gunderson said. “But I think I did just that, and I couldn’t have asked for a better four years.”

In Drohan’s mind, it’s Gunderson’s intangibles that are most impressive.

“She’s just really tough and feisty,” Drohan said. “One time she broke a bone and didn’t even know it for two weeks. That’s how tough she is.”

Besides physical and mental grit, her consistent effort has also earned accolades from her senior teammates.

“Rane has the work ethic of an ant,” Barnes said. “If you knock her house down, she’ll build it right back up again.”

But Gunderson’s not the only one with an impressive work ethic. Barnes’ effort has made her a much more versatile player.

Aside from being the home-run record holder, Barnes has played first base, third base, catcher and even pitcher for the Cats.

“She’s a home-run threat every single time she comes to the plate,” Drohan said. “She’s just pure power, I can’t think of any other way to describe her.”

There are a plethora of ways to describe Jancic, who will go down as one of the best softball players in NU history.

Jancic, a four-year starter, holds all-time NU records for runs scored, RBIs and doubles.

“It means a lot to me to have broken the records because I have so much respect for the program,” Jancic said. “I’ve put a lot into the program and I’ve gotten a lot out of it.”

She’s also a different kind of leader than the other three seniors.

“(Jancic) is one who leads by example,” Drohan said. “When she first came here, she was quiet and really soft. But she’s gotten tougher, and it has shown on the field.”

But Gross is the player Drohan calls the “glue” of the team – the one who remains an integral part of the squad by doing all the little things.

“I think I play a big role in keeping the team together,” Gross said. “I keep things balanced on the team. I try and make things really relaxed and fun.”

But these girls aren’t just softball-playing robots. They’ve made plenty of off-the-field memories, one of which they said they would like to forget.

“I remember when they were all freshmen that they all sang karaoke together at one of the player’s houses,” Drohan said. “I think it was “Everybody,” by the Backstreet Boys. It was the first time that I saw their true character.”

“And from then on,” Drohan joked, “I knew it was going to be trouble.”

But when Sunday rolls around, karaoke will be the farthest thing from their minds.

“I think we all try and make it so it’s not a big deal,” Jancic said. “But that’s only because it is such a big deal. It’s just an honor to be going out with these guys.”