Birmingham-Southern Players Wanted One Last Memory Together, Chose 12-Hour Bus Ride Over Quick Flight Home

The Birmimgham-Southern baseball team certainly captured the hearts of folks across the country during their magical run to the Division III College World Series, when the school officially closed their doors last Friday. 

Having lost their first game in the CWS on Friday, the Panthers were thrown into an elimination game on Saturday, which ended with the Panthers staying alive thanks to a walk-off homer that sent fans into a frenzy, along with sports fans following their story. 

Even though their run came to an end on Sunday night, thanks to a home-run from Wisconsin-Whitewater, the story of Birmingham Southern will live on forever, thanks to a documentary crew that was filming every moment of the postseason run. After a few more days of filming in Birmingham, the production crew led by Jason Sciavicco will get to work on putting together the story to be released on a streaming platform. 

For a baseball team that knew they would no longer have a school to call home in the coming years, all these players wanted was just one more game together. Their lives as baseball players would have to continue at another school if they wanted to keep playing, but it was the experience of one final ride that meant the most to this group who had fought through adversity. 

Birmingham Southern players decided they wanted one last trip home together, so they chose a 12-hour bus ride over a quick flight

Birmingham-Southern Takes One Last Bus Ride Home Together

That brings us to Sunday night. After the team had lost its final game, and knowing that they would go their separate ways once they returned home to Birmingham, the players needed more time together. In the case of the College World Series, the NCAA will pay for the team to travel home by plane, transporting them to Ohio, and then back to Alabama following their final win or loss. 

But a two-hour flight wasn't enough time for this group of players that had formed an unbreakable bond. So, following the loss on Sunday night, a group of seniors went to head coach Jan Wesiberg for one final request. 

The players wanted to travel home by bus, not by plane. Deciding that a two-hour flight was not enough time together, the group wanted to hop on a bus and spend their last road-trip together. So, the coaches and administration got the team a bus for them to spend twelve-hours on the road, taking one last trip together to soak up all the moments they could. 

If this isn't the best way to end an incredible run, besides winning it all, I don't know what to tell you. Knowing that they would not get this time back, the team loaded up on the bus Monday afternoon and started their twelve-hour journey home. 

One last ride, for a group that captured the hearts of folks across the country. For those twelve hours, they wanted to spend it together, one final time before cleaning out their lockers and saying goodbye. 

That's one special group.