‘We Made History’

Photos Courtesy of alyson mcwherter

ARMED FOR TITLE. Alyson McWherter, who played high-school ball at Lakes, kept opposing base-runners honest with her strong throws.

On June 2, around 6:55 p.m., I stood on the third-base foul line with 18 other teammates – all dreaming of the same thing.

With our backs to the dugout, we watched the sun slowly fade over the scoreboard and the bright lights of Hall of Fame Stadium begin to light every inch of the field. The national anthem stirred a sense of pride in me that made me stand just a little taller that night. Holding hands, my teammates and I watched the American flag wave in the light June breeze, as we anticipated a game that could change our lives forever.  

After having arrived to warm-up at the ballpark around 5 p.m. that afternoon, we had headed to a separate field to get in some batting practice and a little bit of defensive work. When it was time, we made the switch over to Hall of Fame Stadium. Everyone was carrying their gear, and we stopped at the hospitality tent to grab some vitamin water and fruit. I took a banana just like I had before every game during the World Series – call it a habit, call it a superstition, I just did it.  

When we made it to the dugout, we dropped off our gear and waited for our short six minutes of infield-outfield practice. The hasty switching of fields and the quick six-minute warm-up got our hearts racing, and by the time we were standing on the third-base line just before the game, I felt like it was the first time I had time to breathe and take it in.

I love this part of the game. Everything slows down, almost to a crawl, slow blinks were accompanied with very long, deep breaths. You allow your body to relax and recognize at one level it was all just another game, a game that I had played so many times before. As the national anthem came to a close, I took one final deep breath. We raised our hands in the air and put our game faces on. Before I left that line, I kissed my hand, tapped my heart, touched the American flag in the back of my sock and pointed to the lone American flag flying just beyond centerfield.  

We were the home team, and as soon as we filed off of that line, players were grabbing their gloves in anticipation of what was about to happen.  Before taking the field, we gathered in a circle and yelled “win,” then sprinted to our positions.  

When I reached centerfield and glanced back at the stadium and the fans, I realized that this is what I had always dreamed of and today, right now, I was living it!  

In the first inning, Florida jumped ahead 2-0. I was mad more than anything, because this team thought for a moment that they were better than us.

My entire team felt the exact same way. I walked over to our leadoff batter Ashley Charters, gave her a fist pump, tapped her on the helmet and said, “We finish this tonight.”

Sure enough we rallied and evened the score at 2-2 that inning. When we ran back out to the field, I remember laughing to myself and thinking, “Ha, you thought you had us.” Maybe that sounds a little arrogant, but it really was not. I was confident in my team, and I could feel deep down we were going to win.  

The entire game was an intense battle. At one point they had a runner on first and second. A ground ball was scorched up the middle and it was my job to throw that runner on second base out at the plate. With all of my heart and soul I charged that ball, scooped it up and threw a one hop right into Alicia Blake’s glove. The runner aggressively rounded third, but the third-base coach held her at third. It would be Florida’s last best chance to score. I was nervous then, when I realized what could have happened if I screwed up.  

The next thing I knew we were back in the dugout, having left those Gators on base, and we were swinging the sticks again. I remember looking up at the scoreboard and realizing that we were only six outs away from the national title. Is this real?  

With two innings left we huddled as a team for the last time and I told them what I told Charters, “We end this tonight, take it from them!” We got three outs without much pressure – Danielle Lawrie was on fire now.

When the seventh inning rolled around, I could not believe it was almost over. We got one quick out and then – seemingly out of the blue – a double was hit off the fence in left field and they had a runner on second with only one out.

I told my outfield this was it – this is what we played for all season; we were going to throw that girl out at the plate. But Lawrie would not let the game end that way. She struck out the next batter.  

With two outs I could not believe we only needed one more. I kept telling myself “Oh my God, is this it.” My heart is racing even now as I write this. Lawrie finished the game as it should have been finished. She struck out their last hitter.  

I raced in from centerfield and ended up being the last one on the top of the pile but somehow found myself underneath everyone when we fell to the ground. I laid there in the dirt half realizing what just happened. Then I saw the trophy and someone handed me a hat and a T-shirt. I immediately put them on because as a little girl I remember seeing every national champion put them on. So I did. Cameras were everywhere, people were crying, and hugs were distributed to even the most unlikely recipients.  

After winning that game they presented us the trophy officially and I swear we took pictures for the rest of the night.  

At one point I was shocked, I stood dumbfounded with my hands on my head wondering if this really just happened. It did. We won. After three-and-a-half weeks on the road, we were finally going home-going home champions.  

The next morning we flew home on another chartered flight courtesy of the NCAA.  

When we landed, video cameras were everywhere. We were escorted by police back to our stadium and greeted by hundreds of fans.  

We won, can you believe that? To this day, I still feel as though it was some sort of a long dream.

I worked all my life to become a part of something greater than myself and I just did it. I wanted to be a national champion for longer than I can remember. I had the opportunity to play softball elsewhere, but I chose the University of Washington because I wanted to make history with them, and the 2009 women’s softball team did just that. We made history!

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