Courtesy of Birmingham-Southern College Baseball Team
Birmingham-Southern College Baseball announced that the college will be officially closed on May 31, 2024 due to financial issues. The college’s baseball team made it to the playoffs for the College World Series; but how will they continue playing for a school that no longer exists? The story of their college baseball team is truly heartwarming and bitter-sweet.
The Birmingham-Southern College Baseball team has continuously been proving themselves in the baseball world this season. BSC was playing in Division III with the Southern Atlantic Association. The team did well in 2024 and fought hard along the way. Their record for their final season was 33-16.
Courtesy of Birmingham-Southern College Baseball Team
The BSC baseball team quickly started getting a lot of attention in the past month when sports fans started hearing about their story. On May 19, the college advanced to the Division-III Super Regionals. People quickly started talking about them more and more; their situation was known in the sports world. During the Super Regional, many players woke up on the day of their last game with norovirus, one player even had to go to the hospital. The other players needed IVs before their game. Towards the end of the game, they had to send a relief pitcher in. Right before they sent him on the field to pitch, he was getting an IV in a tent. Despite many players being so sick, they went on that day to win the Super Regional and go to the College World Series.
Another problem the team now had to face was funding. Since Birmingham-Southern College was closing, they would not have the money or the funding to get to the College World Series games. A GoFundMe was created to help the team get there. Over 110,00 dollars was raised for the team.
Courtesy of Birmingham-Southern College Baseball Team
On June 1, the day after the college closed, BSC played in the first game of the College World Series. They were losing until the last inning when a player hit a walk-off home run to keep them in the College World Series. Unfortunately, they lost their next game ending the Birmingham-Southern College Baseball team’s career. Even with the loss, the team was able to make it to the College World Series defeating all odds. They brought a huge spotlight not just on their school but on the Division-III College World Series. The story of the Birmingham-Southern College Baseball team will forever be in the hearts of all baseball lovers.
Edited by Giana Robertaccio