There may not be sports currently happening every day but that should not stop us from remembering some of the best moments from the past.
Since sports are a big part of the world and a big part of many people’s lives, we have decided to dedicate this section of the paper to events from the past which happened this week. Instead of dwelling on what events we have missed with the sports shutdown, we want to focus on the memorable moments that have made sports great.
Elmore County — May 10, 2014
After grounding out in her first three at-bats, Elmore County’s Ashley Roberts delivered the biggest hit of the year. Her RBI single in the top of the eighth inning scored Olivia Royal, giving the Panthers a 4-3 win over West Blocton in the Class 4A South Central Regional qualifier one game.
“It’s a big deal because I know they were all counting on me, and I know because it was two outs that that was it,” Roberts said. “If I didn’t do it, nobody else was going to get a chance. I just feel good that I came through for them because they were counting on me and I didn’t want to let them down.”
Royal finished the game with two runs scored and an RBI on a sacrifice fly to right field. Chelsea Fomby pitched the final inning in the circle, getting help from a double play started by Elissa Brown. The victory sent the Panthers to their first state tournament appearance since 2007.
State — May 9, 2015
Freshman catcher Carlee Wallace found herself in the spotlight pretty quickly during her first year at Auburn. She needed just one hit to become the hero of the 2015 SEC Softball Tournament as she lined a double into the gap to score Emily Carosone in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat Tennessee, 6-5.
The win gave the Tigers their first ever SEC Tournament championship, one night after defeating rival Alabama in the semifinals. Auburn went on to earn the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and made it all the way to Oklahoma City where the Tigers made their first appearance in the Women’s College World Series.
National — May 6, 1998
In just his fifth career start at the MLB level, 20-year old Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs put his name in the record books with some of the all-time greats. Wood tied the all-time record of strikeouts in a game when he sat down 20 batters in a complete game win over the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field.
Wood allowed only one hit and one other baserunner — Craig Biggio after getting hit by a pitch — but he never allowed a runner to reach second base in the shutout.
Wood’s 20-strikeout performance is now just one of five in MLB history. The most recent pitcher to reach that mark was Max Scherzer when he struck out 20 in a win over the Tigers. (Fun fact: That game also happened this week in sports history – May 11, 2016.)
International — May 7, 2016
The English Premier League season had not officially concluded yet but the title race was already decided and the celebrations at King Power Stadium were ready to get started. Leicester City became the 24th unique club in the league’s history to hoist the trophy as the Foxes stunned the soccer world by winning the world’s most prestigious league after starting the season with 5000-to-1 odds according to NBC Sports.
The celebration and trophy ceremony came just a few days after Leicester City clinched the title when runners-up Tottenham dropped points in a match against Chelsea. The club’s next match was at home as it got to celebrate in front of home fans in the East Midlands.