Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) baseball may have just beat the longest odds in sports history, at any level, since the dawn of humanity. Additionally, the Birmingham, Alabama-based school's journey may have made former Chicago White Sox infielder Adam LaRoche's early retirement worth it in a roundabout way.
The Panthers are advancing to the Division III College World Series despite the school's upcoming shutdown on May 31st, via BSC Athletics.
BSC secured the World Series berth with a 7-6 win over Denison University on Saturday. Panthers athletic director Kyndall Waters couldn't contain his excitement, via Alex Andrejev and Kennington Smith III of The Athletic.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be celebrating a super regional win and punching a ticket to the World Series,” Waters said.
The Panthers pulled off the win amidst nine of their players battling severe food poisoning, with two of them getting hospitalized during the contest. Additionally, Denison was ranked second in the country and was not facing any of these challenges. Yet, the Panthers prevailed.
“I’m so incredibly proud of our team and our coaching staff who have had all the right words to lift up the student athletes as they have faced adversity after adversity,” Waters continued. “We cannot overstate our appreciation for the community that has supported us along the way and our new-found community, the entire country, for joining us on this final historic journey.”
The 1,300-student liberal arts school voted to close in late March due to lack of funding and declining enrollment. The writing was on the wall when the Alabama treasurer declined a $30 million loan in October.
Even though the school is folding, its baseball team isn't. How have the Panthers been able to overcome such long odds?
Birmingham-Southern baseball is an example of resilience paying off
It's hard to not think that BSC's historic run is a product of destiny. Pictured in the above photo is former Washington National Adam LaRoche (left) with his son Drake (right). The elder LaRoche infamously walked away from the game in 2016 after the White Sox no longer allowed the then-14-year-old Drake into the clubhouse, cutting his career short at 36, via Bleacher Report's Timothy Rapp.
Now, Drake is honoring his father's decision by leading the Panthers as their ace pitcher. It would only be right if he won a title with BSC, as Adam was never able to do it at the MLB level.
The Panthers' win went viral, with many fans online deservedly giving the team its props, via Jomboy Media. The outlet reposted a parent's Facebook post about the win on Instagram, causing several users to sound off in the comments.
“If there isn't a documentary in the next year we riot,” said @3than.dutch.
“Bad alfredo sauce won't stop us,” commented Cooper Davis, one of the players.
“Putting the house on you guys,” @cohenhearn replied to Cooper.
At this point, it wouldn't be a surprise if an alien invasion didn't stop this team from winning. Stay tuned as the Panthers start their College World Series journey on Friday, the same day their school closes for good.
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