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INSIDE COVERAGE: A SPECIAL MOMENT
By Corey Adams
On a picture-perfect day for softball at Cheryl Holt Field, Sunday afternoon, Courtney Brower approached the batter's box to lead-off the third inning. With a 1-1 count, the right-handed batter laced a ball to left field, clearing the fence for a solo home run.
The celebration erupted at home plate and in the stands from alumni who were in attendance, and justifiably so. It was the first time Brower had left the yard in her four-year career at Austin Peay.
"It was surreal," Brower said. "It was just a fat pitch, and I just saw it and went with it. It's funny, because I wasn't feeling too well hitting that day. But to finally hit my first home run was definitely exciting."
But what made the moment even more special was her father, Scott, witnessing it from behind the backstop netting.
Throughout her career, Courtney's parents had been stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. During this time, Scott was deployed overseas for approximately half of his daughter's APSU tenure, but always made sure to call long distance to check in and see how his favorite Gov was performing on the diamond. When he was on base, Courtney explained her dad would use his R&R (rest and recuperation) time to fly straight into Nashville to catch a weekend series or two in Clarksville.
A former baseball player at West Point, Scott and Courtney have always shared a passion for the game, dating back to her little league days.
"I've played softball since I was little, so that's the thing we've always had in common growing up," she said. "It's the one really big thing me and him share, and I was just so happy that if I was going to hit a home run, he was here for it."
After Sunday's contest, the Brower family came together to revel over the big fly. Courtney made sure to track down the ball, delivering it a special someone – her biggest fan.
"I ended up giving him the ball afterwards, and my sister said he hasn't put it down yet," Courtney said. "I was really happy just to see how happy he was."
Expectations were that Scott would be able to watch Courtney play every game in 2016, but an unfortunate injury changed those plans. In the first game of the season at Gardner-Webb, Brower broke her hand, forcing her to miss the next 28 games. She returned as a pinch-runner against Tennessee State, April 10, and has now moved back to her familiar center field position.
With only a few weeks left in her senior season, the number of chances were running low to deliver a milestone homer. Fortunately, it finally came after much patience.
"Yeah…that was rough," Brower said of the injury. "I've had an injury before, but it was my sophomore season so it wasn't as hard here where I had so much of my last season taken away. I just tried to stay positive. It got hard knowing my time was winding down, but I'm just happy I was able to come back and at least finish the season."
Only six remaining games dot the schedule for APSU, including three on senior weekend which takes place May 7-8. Brower can feel the emotions sink in, and is now cherishing every moment with her dad looking on for the final few games.
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