Shannon KeoughFormer Cabrini College softball players reunited with the current team for a light-hearted rivalry on Saturday, Oct. 10.
The Cabrini alumni team lost by one run to the current Cavaliers, ending the game with a score of 7-6. This was the first ever alumni softball game to be played under softball coach Lisa McGregor.
“This was a great experience for current players to network and connect with alumni,” Lisa McGregor said.
The idea of having an alumni game came to alumna Kristie Sandefur, who heard about how the lacrosse and field hockey teams have one every year. Sandefur thought that this would be a great way to get the team together to bond again.
“I sent out a massive message to alumni I played with during my four years and the team to see if they would be interested in having a game, everyone was excited and all for it,” Sandefur said.
The alumni team were only able to round up nine of their finest players from previous years. This meant they would have just enough girls to fill the field.
“There were a lot of fall weddings and people had prior engagements but overall it was a good turn out. Next year we hope to recruit more alumni,” McGregor said.
The moment the teams stepped on the field the rivalry began. There were parents and friends scattered around the field cheering and laughing.
By the bottom of the third inning the score was tied 3-3. The alumni recorded one run and the Cavaliers three, to make the score 6-4 by the end of the fifth inning. In the top of the sixth inning alumna Andrea Mory had a homerun and RBI to make the score tied at 6-6.
In the top of the seventh inning the Cavaliers were able to get three quick outs. The alumni took the infield and junior Susan Schmidt was up to bat. Schmidt was able to hit a walk off home run to break the tie and win the game.
“We never would have lived it down if we lost. The alumni would have rubbed it in our faces if they had won, we didn’t want that,” Pam Mechling, junior phyiscal therapy major, said.
Some of the alumni were a bit skeptical about the fact that their former coach was the umpire behind the plate calling the shots.
“We wouldn’t have lost if there would have been better officiating and a fence in the outfield,” Sandefur said.
Overall the alumni game was a way to bring together former Cabrini players and the current, to play the sport they enjoy. It was also a way for alumni to catch up with each other.
“The game brought back memories of playing softball on this field,” Megan O’Brien, alumna, said.
Coach McGregor plans to continue the tradition of an alumni softball game every fall because of how well it went for its first time this year.
“I had a great time seeing and talking with all the alumni I used to play with. Im already looking forward to next year when I’ll be on the alumni team,” Liz Zimmer, biology major, said.
