The University of Minnesota pitcher has made history in her career already. Last year, she became the first Golden Gopher to win the Big 10's Player of the Year award since 1991. She has also been the conference's Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year -- one of just three Big 10 softball athletes to win all three awards. And Groenewegen is only a junior.

No one watching would suspect that Groenewegen's toughest challenge actually comes off the diamond. 

When she was 9 years old, Groenewegen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. The British Columbia, Canada native wears an insulin pump under her uniform and checks her blood sugar often, even during games. Recently, her plight was chronicled in Minnesota Daily.

Not that Groenewegen considers it a big deal at this point. It's just another part of her regular routine.

“Some people have bad ankles, and they have to tape it every day, or some people have shoulder rehab they need to do,” Groenewegen told the student paper. “I just see it as something like that, something I need to take care of. It’s not going to stop me from doing what I want or being able to achieve things ‘normal’ people can do.”

There actually isn't anything normal about what Groenewegen has done at Minnesota. Her accomplishments are actually quite exceptional despite her affliction.

This year, Groenewegen sports a 21-5 record with a paper-thin 1.76 ERA and eye-popping 237 strikeouts in 163 1/3. She has emerged as not just one of the best pitchers in the Big 10, but in the entire country. Oh yeah, and she's pretty darn good at bat, too. Groenewegen is batting .313 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs this season.

Meanwhile, the Gophers are 30-12 with an 11-3 mark in conference play. That's good enough for a No. 22 ranking nationally.

Groenewegen is the biggest reason why. Her diabetes is obviously a serious condition, but it has not come into play at all during her time at Minnesota, according to Gophers coach Jessica Allister.

“The best way to put it is that it’s just not a thing,” Allister told MN Daily. “She’s out here being a Division I athlete and doing everything that that demands, and she’s managing her health. She doesn’t make it an excuse or an issue. She just goes out there and competes like anyone else.” 

Taylor LeMay, Minnesota's catcher and Groenewegen's battery mate, remembers a recent time when Groenewegen needed a break for a few minutes to get blood sugar into her system. Let's just say, she when she came back everything was good to go.

“I remember at Florida Atlantic this year she said, ‘Yeah, I need a few minutes,’ and she’ll be snacking on something," LeMay said. "Then she comes back and throws awesome and had a perfect game the next day. It’s so cool; you don’t see any setbacks from her. She’ll figure it out, get back in the game, and she’s golden.”

Golden indeed. The most golden of Gophers right now as they push toward the Big 10 tournament and beyond. Minnesota's season ended last year in the NCAA regional finals against Arizona and the Gophers are trying to go even further in 2016.

Groenewegen will be the stalwart at the top of the rotation and in the meat of the batting order to help get that done. There will be plenty of obstacles over the next few months for Groenewegen. Diabetes, though, does not figure to be one of them.

"Having diabetes isn't an issue at all," she told the Pioneer Press last year. "If you set your mind to do anything, you can do anything you want. Having diabetes shouldn't get in the way of your goals."