By: by Scott Lipsky
Saturday, ETSU, 2 p.m.: Live Stats Watch Live (Asun.tv)
KENNESAW, Ga. – When Owls senior Lyndsay McCurry gets into uniform on Saturday to take on East Tennessee State, it will be the final time that she will do so knowing that her home crowd will be cheering herself and her teammates on.
McCurry, the lone senior on the Owls, will be honored prior to the start of the pivotal Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader for her efforts with the program over the last four years, with her mother, father, sister and brother looking on.
The Stockbridge, Ga., native has made her mark in the program record books, having stolen a total of 41 stolen bases during her career, the most by an Owl since the program started competing at the Division I level in 2006, and good for fifth all-time in the program’s history. She also enters the weekend sporting a career .305 batting average, and had perhaps one of the biggest hits of her career this past Wednesday, when she hit a two-out, two-run triple with the Owls down by a run in the seventh inning against Georgia State to lead them to an improbable victory.
What Owls head coach Scott Whitlock will remember the most about McCurry, however, is her enthusiasm for the program and her willingness to take on whatever role she was asked to play for the team.
“Lyndsay is an individual of the highest character. She has always been an extremely emotional presence in the dugout and in the locker room, and always cheers on her teammates,” Whitlock said. “Whether she was starting or was a reserve, she was already to play and to contribute whenever we called on her to do so.”
McCurry, who will be student teaching in the fall in order to complete her degree in middle grades math and science education, will look back at her time as a member of the Black and Gold as a time of major personal growth and of when she was able to form strong bonds with her teammates.
“I definitely have learned a lot about myself and will take a lot of the things I learned as a member of this team with me as I move into the real world,” said McCurry. “I still love the game of the softball, and will miss playing, but what I will miss the most will be the girls on the team and the friendships that I’ve been able to develop through being part of a program like this.”
For McCurry, this weekend will be her last one as a member of the home team, but she will always be able to consider Bailey Park home.
