LAKELAND, Fla. – The final chapter of a historic season for the Eckerd College softball program was penned with a dramatic pinch-hit three-run home run by sophomore
Kara Oberer and an act of sportsmanship from Florida Southern College as both teams respectively split in Saturday's doubleheader.
The Kirk Gibson-esque play (1988 World Series reference) in the top of the seventh inning ultimately erased a two-run deficit for the Tritons (27-25, 10-13 SSC) in a game-one win, 4-2, before the Mocs (24-20, 10-13 SSC) walked off with a 2-1 final in game two.
Oberer exited game one early defensively after suffering an undisclosed leg injury in the first inning, but was summoned with runners at first and second in a clutch situation with two outs.
She promptly launched a 2-2 offering to deep left field for the eventual game-winning blast, but what followed is a credit to the Florida Southern program and head coach Chris Bellotto.
With Oberer still hobbled and unable to run, she was carried by several players, including the Mocs' pitcher, senior Chelsea Oglevie, all the way around the bases to touch home plate. It was reminiscent of a similar scene at Central Washington in 2008, when two players from that Division II team also helped an injured player from Western Oregon around the bases on a home run.
"From my perspective, it represents Coach Bellotto's philosophy of high class and it was a true act of sportsmanship today." said EC head coach
Josh Beauregard. "She's a firm believer of winning/losing the right way and I respect that about her when we compete against them."
Saturday's storybook finale followed an improbable 15-inning finish from last night's series opener. The team arrived back home at 1:30 a.m. last night in St. Petersburg and had a quick turnaround departure time of 10 a.m. this morning to Lakeland.
But for Coach Beauregard at the end of the day, it was also time to reflect back on the best season -- and the first-ever winning season above .500 -- the program has arguably assembled since its existence in 1985.
With 10 wins in the Sunshine State Conference, the Tritons also compiled the second-best league win total in a season, tying the 1991 and 1992 EC teams. Eckerd tied for fifth in the SSC standings with Barry.
"This is a building block of what we're trying to do and our players are buying in to establish the winning culture," he said. "With all-the extra-inning games we've been in, it shows how close we are when we've been able to beat most of the teams in the South Region. It's been a never-quit attitude and the next step is swinging those one-run games our way."
"After starting 0-5 (to begin the year), we answered that call pretty well," he added.
Junior
Erin Dixson padded her single-season win record, racking up No. 15 in the opener with another commanding seven-inning performance. Teammate
Amber Hay, one night removed from hurling a combined 12 innings, threw a total of 18.1 frames over the weekend to complement a small 1.15 ERA.
Hay's season ERA of 2.21 and Dixson's line of 2.45 ranks second and third-best in single-season history, respectively, only trailing the 2.01 mark set by Lindsay Sivard in 2001.
Saturday's doubleheader also signaled the end of the careers for a trio of prolific seniors,
Chelsea Jeffares,
Whitney Bernier and
Nazley Wilson.
"It's difficult to get through all four years with all the pending circumstances," said Beauregard. "We promised them things would be different and they stuck with it until the end. Chelsea goes down as one of the best players in school history. Barring an injury this spring, Whitney is one of the best pitchers in school history. Nazley's been a coach's dream by giving 100 percent and excelling academically as an NFCA Scholar-Athlete. We're sad to see all three go, but happy to see them as alumni."
