Column: Saturday was about more than one win for Valpo softball

SB: Beacons victorious in first game after week of adversity

I didn’t know what I was going to find when I arrived at the Valparaiso Softball Complex on Saturday afternoon.

It had been six days since second-year coach Meaggan Pettipiece resigned following her arrest last Thursday. From the moment the news broke on Monday, rumors started flying. Then the story came out, and truth, it appears, is often stranger than fiction.

What must it have been like for members of the Valparaiso softball team in the last week? What was it like to walk the halls of the Athletics-Recreation Center? Were classmates murmuring under their breath? Was there embarrassment? Frustration? Anger? Disappointment?

What was it like for the seniors who would now be on their fourth coach in four years? For the freshmen who now had their worlds turned upside down as the coach who recruited them was suddenly gone?

Would it even be possible to push aside all the adversity, all the distractions, and just get to enjoy playing the game of softball for a sunny afternoon in early April?

You’re damn right.