Hessi Johnson stepped into the box, waited for her pitch, and then crushed her third homer of the night – this time a walk off grand slam to mercy rule Grayson County 13-2. Less than 30 minutes later, Owensboro mercy ruled Hancock County 14-4 on a Tristan Miller bases loaded walk.
It had been over a year since either Owensboro’s baseball or softball team had played at their home stadiums at Russel Shifley Park due to ongoing renovations, but in the span of 30 minutes on Senior Night, both teams seniors were granted one more lasting memory.
For the past year, Shifley Park has undergone renovations to both the baseball and softball fields, but due to unforeseen inclement weather, the project took longer than intended.
“We were hopeful we would be ready by the beginning of the season,” Owensboro Athletic Director Todd Harper said. “Obviously, we have had a crazy amount of rain. We had a very, very, very rough winter and things don’t always go fully according to plan…”
Both the baseball and softball teams were told early on that they wouldn’t be able to play their home games at Shifley, devastating the seniors.
“We were all down, especially us seniors,” Cayden Ray said. “We didn’t know if we were going to have a home field, and all of a sudden we came together. We knew we needed to stay motivated, keep our heads down, and play wherever we needed to play.”
Fellow senior on the softball team Addison Hill echoed his sentiments.
“It was devastating,” Hill said. “I couldn’t really take it in at first, and I didn’t know that we weren’t going to have a field. We didn’t think we were going to be able to play on it at all, so we didn’t expect to. But once we got the text that we could play on it, we were all really excited.”
The announcement that the baseball and softball fields would be able to host Senior Night at Shifley Park came a week ago, reinvigorating both teams.
“It means everything to give them one more game,” Owensboro softball head coach Quincy Moorman said.
Harper acknowledged that multiple athletes thanked him for the opportunity to play one more game at Shifley Park this season.
“That was what the hurry was because this was their last season,” Harper said. “A lot of these guys and girls have been playing here for five to six years. We wanted to give them a great going-away gift, so to speak, to be able to play on their home field at least once during their senior year.”
For Ray, he was filled with emotions as he stepped on the field at the top of the first and walked toward a pitchers mound that had become a second home to him.
“It’s definitely a sad moment, but it is a really good feeling,” Ray said. “And to take it with these seniors, it’s a privilege.”
