Birmingham-Southern’s magical postseason ends with an 11-10 loss in the D-3 World Series

EASTLAKE, Ohio (AP) — There is indeed crying in baseball, and for Birmingham-Southern, there were plenty of tears of joy, too.

A magnificent, almost magical postseason run ended in pain.

More heartache.

The Panthers’ inspiring run, which came as the Alabama liberal arts college was shuttered for financial failure after more than 160 years, ended Sunday with an 11-10 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Division III College World Series.

It was a painful, seemingly unfair end to a never-say-die team that lifted a tight-knit community devastated by school closures while capturing the hearts of American sports fans who could relate to the Panthers’ feel-good story, a mix of loss, pain and pride.

“I don’t feel sadness right now, and I mean it,” said coach Jay Weisberg, who took over the BSC program in 2007 and turned it into one of the strongest in the country at the D-III level. this year has been absolutely incredible.

“Coaching is what I love and these guys made it so much fun.”

Birmingham-Southern built a 10-5 lead through six innings but couldn’t stop Wisconsin-Whitewater, which scored two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth and got a homer from Sam Paden in the top of the ninth .

Someone had to be the villain.

When Paden’s homer cleared the left-field wall, several Birmingham South players stood still in disbelief.

After all, there would be no storybook ending.

After briefly gathering his team on the field, Weisberg had his players and the alumni who had made the trip from across the country to watch the Panthers stand on the third-base line one last time.

Together they tipped their caps to the BSC supporters in the stadium, a final salute from a team that would never play again. The players then left the field in small groups, hand in hand.

The salute was something Weisberg had planned, a full-circle moment for himself and the players he touched.

Weisberg managed to keep his composure in the first part of his press conference before being asked what he hoped Birmingham-Southern’s final message would be.

“What a beautiful place it is…it was,” he said before breaking down in tears.

Weisberg took 25 seconds to calm down before continuing to talk about a school that defined his life.

“I know a lot of people are proud of their schools, and they should be,” he said. “We’re no different than a lot of people. But it’s such a beautiful place, physically. We have the best sunsets in the world. The message about Birmingham-Southern is that it changed lives. It was a place where people came as young men and women and left as mature men and women.

“What this nation has seen over the last three weeks and the joy we’ve brought is exactly what this program is — it’s toughness, it’s championship baseball, a great young man. I love that the last chapter for Birmingham-Southern could have gone off into the sunset and not many people other than alumni or the Birmingham community would know about it.

“But now the nation knows that some pretty special things happened here.”

The doors to BSC were officially closed on Friday as the Panthers opened the eight-team double-elimination tournament with a loss to Salve Regina.

And while they won’t be going home with a trophy, Birmingham-Southern’s players have brought joy to a community still dealing with the fact that the school is gone forever.

In March, when the school announced it was closing, Weisberg encouraged his players to play freely, and they did.

When Wisconsin-Whitewater returned, Weisberg’s son, JT, remembered to live by his father’s words.

“When the game got close, I wasn’t worried about winning or losing,” he said. “I wanted one more night so I could hang out with everyone. I think the ride we’ve had the last three weeks is better than winning a national championship.

“Anyway, we’re going back to campus and we’re all going to have to move and say goodbye to our friends. It’s the relationships that last longer than anything we’ve won in this race or anything we could ever win. “

“I hope what people learned from this is the power of people coming together with love.”

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