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. SPORTS 12 WWW.GUlLFORDIAN.COM imsm I Mtr W J BY BRITTANY MURDOCK Staff Writer Sports and injuries go together like peanut butter and jelly, SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick or the perfect combination of a bat and a ball. They just happen. The women's softball team has suffered numerous injuries that left the team to end the season far from expectations. With 10 games left to go in the season, the team's starting second baseman, junior Cynthia Hayes was ruled out for the season due to a strained IT band in her knee when diving for a ball during practice. At the time, Hayes led Division 111 in batting average. After Hayes's injury, the team accumulated 7 of their 19 losses. "Sometimes a little thing will make a difference," said head women's softball coach Dennis Shores. "When you lose somebody like that, it's not saying that there aren't other girls that can step in(to) her shoes but not to her extent. We just had to roll with the punches." Senior catcher and first baseman Sarah Cutright struggled to adjust. Cutright is one of the two captains on the team and has played next to Hayes for the past two and a half years. "It was really hard because we knew how one another played," said Cutright. "I knew what balls she was going to get, and I knew the ones that I needed to get. It was hard to regroup." Other notable wounds consisted of a broken foot, sprained wrists and several concussions, leaving players out for weeks at a time. At one point, half of the starters were sidelined. Junior pitcher Morgan Myers fractured her foot during an intramural volleyball game. Within the past three years, her hand was broken, and she developed a stress fracture in her foot. "It's hard coming back from an injury because I worked really hard this summer to get back to where I was before," said Myers. "You work hard to be on that field, and I ended up watching the game. It was heartbreaking." Injuries didn't leave the girls Infielder junior Cynthia Hayes prepares to tag a runner. During a practice, Hayes strained the IT band in her knee and could not play for the rest of the season. pessimistic for long. "The whole team stepped up in different situations," said first-year outfielder and pitcher Calli Pastor. "It was a different person every game making big plays or hitting the ball at' certain times when we really needed it." With so many players out, injured players have inspired and motivated the rest of the team. "We fought and gave more effort for the girls sitting on the bench that were injured," said sophomore, third and first baseman Rachel Howard. Last year while batting, a player suffered a broken nose and concussion when a ball hit her in the face. This season, batting helmets were equipped with face guards to help prevent freak injuries such as these. Still, there is only so much precaution one can take, and Myers wasn't the only varsity athlete injured while participating in other sports. Junior Thomas Deane, lacrosse goalie, tore his MCL and ACL when he went up for a layup during a halftime event at a basketball game. This raises the question: should coaches be careful of their athletes participating in other sport related activities while in season? "In Division III, student- athletes are open to playing other sports or intramurals," said men's lacrosse head coach Tom Carmean. "Unfortunately, every once in a while an unlucky or bad thing happens. That doesn't say that it couldn't have happened if they were running on the trails getting in shape." Although the season didn't end the way the women's softball team would have liked, the future is promising for next season. "I think next year is going to be our year," said sophomore second baseman Marty Wilcox. "Everyone was new and we were trying to form this chemistry. We finally found it, and it will work in our favor next year." INSIDE SPORTS NFL Sportscaster Al Michaels arrested for DU I BY JOHN KLUEPFEL Staff Writer Spring 2013 athletic awards Sports world reacts to Boston bombing BY JOSH BALLARD Staff Writer The shot heard around the world. A common phrase in the world of sports and one that became all too real on April 15 as two explosive devices detonated at the 2013 Boston Marathon. Law enforcement pursued the two suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsamaev, ending in the death of Tamerlan, 27, and the capture of Dzhokhar, 19. Interestingly enough, both suspects were accomplished sportsmen. Tamerlan competed in amateur boxing, and Dzhokhar was a wrestler. This made the whole ordeal hit even closer to home, as participants in sports are sometimes our first true understanding of what it means to be a hero. Luckily, many athletes unflinchingly responded. "I wasn't surprised by the outpouring from the sports world," said Director of the Friends Center and Campus Ministry Coordinator Max Carter in an email interview. "The sports world uses a good deal of martial imagery and patriotism, so it was a natural reaction." One of the initial tributes came just two days later at the Bruins home ice game against the Buffalo Sabres. Video of the rousing National Anthem from the event quickly went viral. "As you can imagine a lot of people asked me (to rank them), and the answer has always been easy," said Rene Rancourt, who sang the anthem while over 18,000 fans joined in, according to ESPN. "I waited 35 years for that Stanley Cup. But now, I must tell you, this tops them all." Even the players were moved by the audience participation. "My hair was standing up on the back of my neck," said Bruins left wing Shawn Thornton told the NHL Network, who sang along with the fans. "It was very emotional." Those in the sports community offered not only emotional support but financial support as well. The National Football League answered by donating $100,000 to One Fund Boston. The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and the family of Patriots owner Robert Kraft have agreed to match donations up to that amount. They have already raised a considerable $617,000, thanks in part to contributions from the NFL Foundation. However, it was important not to forget those who were first on the scene helping to sort through the chaos and bring back order. The Boston Celtics honored community members who offered aid in the aftermath of the blasts. "You don't get a chance a lot of times to say thank you to firemen and policemen," said Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers to ESPN. "My dad was a cop. So it's nice that people have a chance and want to thank them, so I think it's terrific." Even on campus the kindness of the response was not lost. "I was proud to see the Celtics wearing patches that showed their support," said senior and basketball fan Lateef Mitchell. "Like the (New Orleans) Saints winning after Katrina, Boston was able to triumph over their tragedy." It is important to remember that the U.S. is not alone in trying times. A number of international events featured participants wearing black armbands in support of those affected. "(The armband) means that runners are stronger than bombers," said Valerie Bloomfield, a 40-year-oId London Marathon participant from France, according to CBS Sports. It is this knowledge that keeps the world working towards progress. "The reaction by the sports world showed how different communities can come together and feel the pain of others," said senior peace and conflict studies major Simon Warhaft. "Hopefully it won't stop there and people will further educate themselves on why this happened — and what can be done to support all communities, including Chechens." Junior Juliette Terry, who went to school with Dzhokhar from about fifth to eighth grade, said she was confused when she heard the news. "He was a really sweet kid, got along with everyone, never disturbed the peace, said Terry in an email interview. "They were such good kids. I think it's important for people to realize that they are people, they have friends and family, they're our age, they did do awful things, that could be classified at terrorism, but they are not monsters or "terrorists," at least not in my eyes."
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