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Back On The Field
Wilson caps emotional week with game
Casey McKean struck out eight in six innings,
less than a week after the death of her sister.
FLORENCE - Casey McKean's pitching performance Thursday was nothing more than an afterthought.
McKean and the rest of the Wilson Warriors returned to the softball diamond for the first time since Cory McKean - Casey's younger sister- died in a car accident this past Saturday.
Another softball player, Suzanne Stowe, was seriously injured in the wreck, and she remains in a Huntsville hospital.
The game provided a measure of healing for a team still trying to cope with the loss of a teammate.
"Everybody has said I've been really strong, but today has been the first day it really hit me," Casey McKean said. "It's just been real tough.
"I never considered not playing, because I knew she'd want me to play, and it's my last home game. I knew even if she wasn't down here with me, she's up there watching."
The ballpark was filled with memorials - big and small - to Cory McKean.
The Warriors wore armbands with Cory McKean's No. 17 emblazoned on them.
Deshler players wore black ribbons with Cory's name written on them as a display of remembrance.
Hand-written signs, flowers and a photo of Cory McKean also greeted fans at the entrance gate.
Wilson's 9-0 victory provided a welcome dose of good news for the Warriors, who returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since the wreck.
"This is the hardest week I've had in my whole life," Wilson coach Laura McFall-Webb said.
"Everything seems unreal when you get out there to play, and you know it is real. I'm proud of the way the girls have come through it. A lot of people have been hurt by this, and they're doing the best they can to get through it.
"I think Casey has done amazingly well, but she's very mature and an exceptional person. Nobody wants to win as much as she does. That's how it's been the whole season."
Rain began to fall just before game time, and the game was stopped nine minutes into the first inning because of lightning.
None of that slowed Casey McKean (24-5), who earned the victory with six strong innings. She struck out eight, including five in a row during one stretch, and allowed only two hits.
She also had three hits, including a double in the sixth, and drove in two runs.
"Sometimes in a situation like this, you can have the game of your life," Deshler coach Cheryl Brown said. "She did a great job.
"I told our girls that this would probably be the mentally and physically toughest game they would ever play," Brown continued. "Our girls couldn't feel the same pain as Wilson, but they felt the pain this week. A lot of them played summer ball with Casey."
Wilson scored four runs in the first inning, which was more than enough cushion for McKean, and added three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth.
Wilson's Chelsea Cernosek pitched the seventh - a role that Cory McKean would normally fill - as rain broke through the clouds and drenched the field.
"I think there was a time in the game when we all thought about some more, because Cory usually comes in to pitch," McFall-Webb said. "And, she wasn't here for that today, and everybody will probably go home and cry tonight."
The Warriors (28-6) return to action at Muscle Shoals on Tuesday, their final regular-season game. Wilson and Deshler (9-22) will play in the area tournament April 30 at Brooks.
Wilson honored its three seniors - Casey McKean, Jessica Davis and Kelli Ivy - in a post-game ceremony.
Even though players joked with one another and parents snapped photos after the game, Cory McKean was never far from anyone's mind.
"I'm thinking about her, and she'll be with me the whole time," Casey McKean said.
Timesdaily.com
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In Memory Of Cory McKean