Those who don’t know Stacy Bahr might just remember her for the 2-11 record she had for the Park High School softball team this spring.
Those who do know Bahr have enormous respect for her. And some even offer her a college scholarship.
That came to pass recently when Bahr earned a partial scholarship to continue her softball career for Philadelphia University. Bahr will receive about $3,000 toward her tuition as a freshman with the opportunity of earning increases in her scholarship during her college career.
“I think I’m going to get the best opportunity ever,’’ said Bahr, who has a 9-4 record and 1.56 earned-run average for the Racine Belles this summer. “I wasn’t really looking for a D-I school. I was looking for a smaller school and I really found the school that I love. The coach (John Kelly) is great, the girls are great and I think I’m just going to have a great time.’’
So how did a pitcher with a 2-11 find a spot on a Division II college program, let alone earn a partial scholarship? For a couple of reasons.
From a performance standpoint, Bahr posted a 1.33 ERA and struck out 88 in 94 innings. And she did this with the consistent pressure of having little run support, considering Park had a .180 team batting average.
From a determination standpoint, Bahr played most of the season with a stress fracture in her right leg, causing her severe pain whenever she pitched. It was only when Park coach Greg Nyboe took the ball away from her with about two weeks remaining in the season that Bahr finally conceded to the injury.
“Just pushing off was an absolute pain,’’ she said. “I just couldn’t push anymore.’’
But with that pain has come a reward. And when Bahr sent a video to Philadelphia, one of the schools that offer her intended major of fashion merchandising, she received a favorable response.
“I think she’s got a real significant upside,’’ Kelly said. “I know she played for a relatively weak team out there this year, but I think she’s got everything that’s required to succeed at the Division II level.’’
Said Bahr, “Even though I didn’t get to finish my year at Park, which really upset me, I still get to go somewhere else and I get to try to do the same stuff I was doing at Park.’’
What Bahr did at Park will be remembered for a long time — and not just by Nyboe.
“Any time we played Park the last couple of years, anyone who paid attention to the scores saw it was 2-1, 1-0 … we could never jump on her like we were able to with other girls,’’ Case coach Damon Jackson said. “She was not an overall dominating presence, but her numbers pretty much speak for themselves.”
Nyboe is losing a player who won’t be easily replaced in a number of ways.
“She gutted it out,’’ he said. “To have something like that and just keep pitching and keep working, I mean, she did everything she could to get our teams some wins.
“She never complained about her leg. Actually, it was me who ended up pulling her out because she would have kept going until someone told her to stop.’’
Philadelphia, an NCAA Division II program with an enrollment of about 2,000, is coming off an 8-32 season.
source:www.journaltimes.com
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