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Furm's Take: A Loss, Maybe. But Losers? No Way
The Falcons were quick to turn their Sunday celebration back to sophomore Jessica Rhoads, who finished the unthinkable against Salisbury.
Newport News, VA – Moments after sophomore Jessica Rhoads gave up Sunday’s two-strike, two-out home run to Salisbury University’s Rachel Hastings, I made my way to the far side of the Messiah dugout at Christopher Newport University’s Captains Field. I had to. Had to position myself to rush onto the field and get some dejection shots – photos of Messiah players crying, hugging, putting faces to the phrase I don’t believe this just happened to us. After all, the game was over. Messiah watched a 3-2 lead dissipate behind Hasting’s two-run blast in the top of the seventh, and was now staring at a 4-3 deficit to a team that had won 36 of its last 37 games. Further strengthening my viewpoint was the image I saw of Rhoads inside the Falcons’ dugout. Pulled by head coach Amy Weaver after giving up the dinger, Rhoads had her head in her hands. She unlaced her cleats and unrolled the bulky, blue brace that had covered her deeply-bruised left knee for the second half of the season. This game was over. My thoughts didn’t change much even after sophomore Ashley Lehman led off the bottom of the seventh with a bunt single and senior Abby Bergakker walked. After all, there were two outs retired, and Sea Gulls’ pitcher Erika Brittingham – their number two hurler – had a perfect 13-0 record on the year. I guess it was fate that brought up Rhoads’ spot in the batting order. She wasn’t ready to hit at the time, as Weaver and staff had a decision to make: Re-enter Rhoads back into the lineup so she could bat, or give someone else a crack. I happened to glance at assistant coach Alex Quigley, who gestured to Weaver from his position in the first-base coaching box. He made a “1-0” sign using both hands. I gulped. They were sending Jess Rhoads back out there? This was a kid who just gave up the game-winning home run, could barely walk, and was going to be put in the position to be the goat not once, but twice?!? I almost couldn’t watch. Rhoads got up from her seat on the bench, staggered around for a helmet, and limped out to the batter’s box. And then she hit one to the centerfield fence. That’s the image I’ll remember from this weekend’s NCAA Regional in Virginia. I’ll remember the look of sheer joy – mixed with shock and disbelief – on the faces of the Messiah players and coaches after both Lehman and Bergakker scored off of Rhoads’ hit. I’ll remember how many players came up huge throughout the day, only to be rewarded with one of the greatest wins in program history. Sure, the 1-0 loss to Christopher Newport was tough to stomach afterward. But maybe, just maybe, the team’s effort and belief system helped turn tears of disappointment into hugs and laughter shortly thereafter. Senior Tori Hatt, with a whopping two pitching wins entering the day, was magical in the pitching circle against CNU. With Rhoads’ knee keeping her on the shelf, Hatt looked the part of Messiah ace, scattering six hits and allowing just a single run to a team which averaged more than six scores per game. Of course, I’m one who believed Hatt’s attitude was what did it. You wanna talk about a kid who gets it? Look no further than Hatt. “I never lost sight of what this experience is all about,” Hatt wrote in a recent team blog. “It is not about me. It is not about statistics or starting games. It is about the journey. It is about being a family, about being so enmeshed that when my teammates are out on the field I feel like I am out there. It is about fulfilling the hopes of the past and creating a future. It is about doing what my teammates and my coaches ask of me. Every single girl is significant to this team. You never know when Coach is going to call on you to get the game winning hit or play an unfamiliar position. It is about the love of the game.” Messiah’s love of the game – and competition – was evident in more ways than one Sunday. How else could you explain freshman Daniella Pusateri busting up a perfect game from CNU’s Kristen Rowe in the sixth inning, in her first at-bat in an NCAA Tournament game? Or a number of defensive gems behind Hatt in the day’s finale, preserving a chance to tie it all up with a single run? “It wasn’t just the starters today,” Weaver told me after it was all over. “It was everyone on our roster. Kid after kid after kid stepped up and came through for us. I couldn’t be prouder of our team.” Take a look around, and you’ll often read how a Messiah opponent beat the ‘defending national champions.’ I’ve never understood that phrase. No one is swiping the Falcons’ 2009 trophy. There’s no defending something that can’t be taken. But, it is a big deal to beat Messiah, and that was evident Sunday. As Christopher Newport celebrated joyously after earning a berth to next weekend’s national championships, the Falcons were left to search for what might have been. “Twenty years from now we are not going to remember who started, who had the leading batting average, or who made the awesome plays,” Hatt wrote in that blog. “We are going to remember the lifelong friends we made and the experiences that we shared. We are going to remember the journey.” Someone else will win the 2010 national championship next weekend in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. As far as I’m concerned, they can have it. I’ll make my way to the far side of Messiah’s dugout every time.
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