‘It’s more than a game’: Opponents help injured softball player score winning run

CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (WXIX/Gray News) - A game between two college softball teams came to an inspiring end.

Becca Mowen, a member of the Thomas More Saints, left the dugout with her team down three runs in the final inning.

She was celebrating a game-winning grand slam with a slow jog around the bases when something went wrong.

Her teammate ran to home plate, but Mowen’s run stopped near second base.

“And, I heard my hamstring pop. Twice. And I could no longer run,” Mowen said.

“I see her get back up and she starts to try to run again and she falls over again. I’m like, ‘OK, something is seriously wrong,’” said Ashley Evans, Cumberland University softball player.

Unable to walk off her injury, Mowen’s walk-off home run wouldn’t count unless she touched home plate.

“It was her moment and I don’t feel like it was our place to take it away from her, so I think we just helped her through it,” said Jacey Hatfield, Cumberland University softball player.

“At that point, I start running in. And we carried her up, one on each side, and walked her around the bases,” Evans said.

It’s a moment they say felt bigger than the game.

With her arms around her opponents, Mowen stopped at third to slowly tap the base.

In what’s supposed to be the biggest moment of a softball player’s career, something bigger happened.

“What really sticks in my mind is that her coach stopped us and shook our hand and told us, ‘That’s a class act.’ And everyone was just super thankful. I felt like it was just the right thing to do,” Evans said.

“Yeah, this probably is the top moment I’ve had, not just because of the game-winning grand slam, but, like, showing what this sport can do to people,” Mowen said.

“You hear this all the time from athletes, but it’s more than a game. And, I think that’s just another great lesson I’ve learned through softball and I hope that we’ve influenced other people as well,” Hatfield said.

The Saints’ season ended with a final record of 27-19.

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