Current:Home > MyIn D3 World Series, Birmingham-Southern represents school that no longer exists: 'Most insane story' -ValueMetric
In D3 World Series, Birmingham-Southern represents school that no longer exists: 'Most insane story'
View
Date:2025-04-16 15:08:16
They closed the doors to the private liberal arts college on Friday for the final time after 168 years.
Their baseball team could have quit, too, but refused.
Playing for a school that no longer exists, with a GoFundMe account set up for the team’s expenses, the Birmingham-Southern baseball team went out Friday and played in the Division III World Series in Eastlake, Ohio.
After losing the first game of the double-elimination series, the team extended its season on Saturday with a walk-off win.
They have become America’s Team.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
“This is a story like no other, not anything I’ve been around," Jason Sciavicco, who’s producing a documentary of the team, told USA TODAY Sports. “It’s the most insane story in a positive way."
This is a team that was muddling along with a 13-10 record when the school announced it was closing May 31 because of financial woes, and the state of Alabama declining to bail them out for $30 million.
So, what do they do?
They went 19-4 to advance to the College World Series, including winning the super regionals when nearly half the team came down with food poisoning.
“It was crazy," Sciavicco says. “They wake up with food poisoning, nine guys are throwing up, they had to get IVs just to play the game, one [closer Hanson McCown] is taken away by ambulance to the emergency room, and they win."
They knocked off Denison, 7-6, earning an at-large berth in the Division III World Series, representing a school that no longer exists.
Birmingham-Southern’s most famous player is ace Drake LaRoche, who was last seen getting kicked out of the Chicago White Sox’s clubhouse as a 14-year-old kid, angering his father, Adam LaRoche, to the point that he abruptly retired.
He’s just one of the several storylines around the team trying to win for only the memories of a school that once existed.
“They don’t give out college scholarships," Sciavicco said. “There’s no NIL money. It would have been so easy for these kids just to mail it in when they knew the school was closing. There are so many distractions.
“But to see how these kids have circled the wagons and have played for each other, for the love of the game.
“I’ve never been around a story as pure at this."
Sciavicco, who has been in the film production business since 2005, has done plenty of sports films in his day, everything from college title runs to the New Orleans Super Bowl run, but nothing like this.
“This thing has been like a movie," he said. “They are writing their own script. They don’t need any writers at this point."
veryGood! (99)
Related
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- The 2024 Grammy Awards are here; SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Victoria Monét lead the nominations
- Suburban Chicago police fatally shoot domestic violence suspect
- Scoring record in sight, Caitlin Clark does it all as Iowa women's basketball moves to 21-2
- A steeplechase record at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Then a proposal. (He said yes.)
- Second powerful storm in days blows into California, sparking warnings of hurricane-force winds
- The 3 people killed when a small plane crashed into a Clearwater mobile home have been identified, police say
- Grammys Mistakenly Name Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's Barbie World As Best Rap Song Winner
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- How 2024 Caribbean Series was influenced by MLB legend Ralph Avila | Nightengale's Notebook
Ranking
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Biden sets sights on Las Vegas days before Nevada’s primary. He’s also got November on his mind.
- Joni Mitchell Makes Rare Appearance Ahead of First-Ever Grammys Performance
- 'It sucks getting old': Jon Lester on Red Sox, Cubs and his future Hall of Fame prospects
- NCAA hits former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with suspension, show-cause for recruiting violations
- Grammys 2024: Paris Jackson Covers Up 80+ Tattoos For Unforgettable Red Carpet Moment
- California bald eagles care for 3 eggs as global fans root for successful hatching
- Inferno set off by gas blast in Kenya's capital injures hundreds, kills several; It was like an earthquake
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
'Curb your Enthusiasm' Season 12: Cast, release date, how to watch the final episodes
How a small Texas city landed in the spotlight during the state-federal clash over border security
Kandi Burruss announces 'break' from 'Real Housewives of Atlanta': 'I'm not coming back this year'
FBI: California woman brought sword, whip and other weapons into Capitol during Jan. 6 riot
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami preseason match in Hong Kong: How to watch, highlights, score
Taylor Swift website crashes, sending fans on frantic hunt for 'Reputation' Easter eggs
The destruction of a Jackie Robinson statue was awful. What happened next was amazing.