Senior Night: A Painful Memory
After all of the seniors were recognized for their many feats and memorable moments of their baseball career at Berea College, it was time to start the second game of the series with the Huntingdon Hawks. Although the game before could have ended better with a final score of 27-17 in a loss for Berea, the Mountaineers appeared ready to take on the Hawks hungry for redemption. However, they were sadly not able to end their senior night on a good note losing to the Hawks 19-4 in seven innings.
It was pretty clear that this game was going to be hard to watch right off the bat. In the bottom of the first inning, left fielder Nick Bottoms was called out at the plate due to a controversial play. This call laid out the foundation what was to come to Berea’s Mountaineers.
Even though this was not the way you want to start a baseball game, the Mounties brushed off the first inning mishaps as they held the lead at 2-1. Though, this feeling of confidence was quickly replaced with doubt in the third inning when the Hawks scored 4 runs to take the lead. This feeling of doubt only worsened in the fifth inning when Michael Smither allowed seven runs to score after an error at third base loaded the bases with Huntingdon Hawks. After walking three batters consecutively and giving the opponents a 10-2 lead, it was time for our dear senior to come off the mound. It was difficult for the senior to not feel humiliated as he walked to the dugout with his head low, but it was heartwarming to hear the appreciation of the fans as the field loudened with claps from all angles.
After TC filled Smither’s spot on the mound, the game was pretty much decided from there. The Mountaineers tried with all their hearts to make this a game for the fans and the seniors, but their efforts were futile as they couldn’t produce at the plate while the Hawks had no problems. The game ended worse than the game before as they were mercy ruled in the eighth inning at 19-4. Although they may not have won the game or the series, they did let their seniors know that they genuinely cared about them and wanted to give them a night to remember. Sadly, the Mounties will not be able to redeem themselves because Huntingdon had to leave early due to weather conditions.
