| Author |
Messages |
|
Mr. Dukester
Posts:0
 |
| 05/10/2007 8:22 PM |
 Alert
|
As she nears the end of her sophomore season, Brittany Weil is on course to be one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the Iowa softball program.
She already might be the most courageous.
And resilient.
And inspirational.
And toughest.
The fact that Weil even has pitched for Iowa this season is impressive by itself considering what happened to her in practice barely three months ago.
The fact that she has won 18 games, pitched nine shutouts and compiled a 1.63 earned-run average heading into Friday's game against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament is simply amazing.
At least, that's how Iowa coach Gayle Blevins describes Weil's comeback from being hit in the head with a line drive in practice in early February. The ball barely missed the tender part of Weil's temple, but it still caused major damage and sent a shockwave throughout the UI athletic community.
Weil suffered a fractured skull and a concussion and she also temporarily lost control of her speech. She was taken to the emergency room and then spent four days in the hospital before being released to the care of her mother, who had traveled from the family's home in Garden Grove, Calif.
"I remember releasing the ball and I can picture exactly where it was," Weil said Tuesday before practice. "And then as soon as she swung I don't remember the ball coming back at me. But I remember being on the ground."
Weil never lost consciousness after being struck, but she did lose the ability to speak normally.
"Some words were really hard for me to say," Weil said.
That became apparent when Weil tried to communicate with her teammates while sprawled on the ground.
"I didn't really cry until they started asking me questions," Weil said. "And when I wasn't answering them right, you could tell, they didn't want to say anything, but I knew I wasn't saying the right answers.
"I think it was more, not scared that I got hit, but that I wasn't talking right."
Blevins reacted just like her players. She was shocked and scared, but she still didn't understand the severity of the situation until after Weil had been examined at the hospital.
"I've explained to a lot of people that it's the most unbelievable experience that I've ever gone through as a coach," said Blevins, who is in her 20th season as the Iowa coach.
Blevins was standing near Weil when she got struck by the ball. Blevins immediately turned to Iowa catcher Sami Baugh and asked if Weil got a glove on the ball.
"I was right behind her so I couldn't tell if she got a direct hit or not," Blevins said. "I was walking towards her and Sami Baugh was catching her in the drill. And so I asked (Sami) and she shook her head like no, she didn't get a glove on it.
"I was trying to mouth it without Brittany hearing what I was asking. Even at that point and until we got into it for a while, I had no idea just how significant it was. I don't know that you can."
It took about two weeks for Weil to start speaking normal again. But she was back on the mound pitching in a real game in less than six weeks.
She did more than pitch, though. She dominated.
Weil returned to the lineup March 13 and threw 21.1 shutout innings in her first four starts. She also tallied three of her four double-digit strikeout performances this season in her first three starts, including a career-high 15 against Brigham Young.
"I knew that Brit was someone very special when we first got her into our program, but watching her go through this and seeing what she's been able to overcome is absolutely amazing to me," Blevins said. "I don't know of a lot of people who could probably get back on the mound and do what she did, and do it as amazingly well.
"To overcome the anxiety and the fear and all the things that could be associated with it, that to me is pretty incredible and that's a real testament to her."
Weil also seems surprised by the extent of her comeback. She has gone from struggling just to form sentences in February to making batters struggle at the plate throughout the spring.
Iowa was 14-10 without Weil in the lineup, but is 23-10 since her return.
Blevins said some people have told her that Weil is pitching better now than she did as a freshman when she won 27 games.
"There have been obstacles along the road, but I've been amazing myself throughout the whole thing just seeing how far I've come," Weil said. "From being taught (how to say certain) words again to being able to go back on the mound and just face challenges one by one."
Weil's injury caused the players to see another side of Blevins, who is known for being meticulous and driven to succeed.
"You forgot that she was the coach," sophomore shortstop Erin Riemersma said of Blevins. "She turned into a complete mother role. She was Brittany's mom until her mom got her.
"And even after that the conversations that I had with coach Blevins we put softball aside because this was much more important than softball."
Riemersma is one of Weil's closest friends on the team. She spent the first night in the hospital with Weil and most of the weekend. Riemersma was amazed by Weil's toughness and determination during those tense moments early on in the hospital.
"She made it easy to be in the room because she was talking positively the entire time," Riemersma said.
Weil said she never felt that her career was in jeopardy, even as she struggled to form sentences.
"It didn't even cross my mind," she said. "As soon as Erin came in the hospital, I looked at her and I go, 'I'm playing this season,' because people were like, 'oh, you're going to redshirt probably.'
"And I'm like, 'no. I'm coming back and it's going to be this year.'"
Weil has had to overcome both physical and mental hurdles caused by the injury. She immediately passed the physical test by pitching well in her first four games, but she unraveled the first time a ball was hit back at her in a game.
"It wasn't even close to me," Weil said. "It was a line drive over my head.
"It was the first inning of a game and it was pretty much downhill from there, but just for that game. It was just something we had to overcome."
Weil credits Iowa pitching coach Amanda Scott for helping to ease her fear of being hit again. Scott was a star pitcher at Fresno State in the late 1990s.
"I kept talking with coach Scott, and then actually, a couple weeks ago the ball was hit right back at me and literally missed my head by a couple of inches," Weil said. "I looked at coach Scott and she came out.
"We called timeout and breathed a little bit and I finished the game."
Blevins and Weil both praised the UI medical staff, including athletic trainer Faye Thompson, for how they handled the situation.
"Everybody shouldered some responsibility," Blevins said. "Her teammates were great. They went to the hospital. They spent time with her when things were kind of really crazy, and she just needed their assurance. They were there and their coaches were there.
"This University of Iowa community, we always talk about that if you're ever going to be hurt, this is certainly the right community to be hurt in because the medical profession here is second to none."
Blevins had the difficult task of calling Weil's parents in California to tell them about the injury.
"It's tough because you don't know how significant it is at that point in time," Blevins said. "You don't really know the magnitude of the injury.
"I can look back at it now and realize things that I couldn't begin to realize at that point because we were all dealing with something that was an unknown to us."
Blevins was touched by a conversation she had with Weil's father after the injury had occurred.
"He said, 'Gayle, all the things you said you would do in the recruiting process you have done,'" Blevins said. "And as parents, we could not be more thankful for how you've taken care of Brit.'"
|
|
|
|
|
Arbitrator
Posts:192
|
| 05/10/2007 8:35 PM |
Alert
|
I recall reading about Brittanys injury when it happened.
Great to hear she has rebounded so well, this story should be used as one of inspiration to all of those injured whether in sports or not that "you can recover"!
Great Post Dukester!
|
|
|
|
|
Mr. Dukester
Posts:0
|
| 05/10/2007 8:54 PM |
Alert
|
Thanks for the kudos!
Not my intent to do a lot of cutting and pasting on this site but I thought it was a great "read" especially with the Womans NCAA Softball race heating up.
|
|
|
|
|
Logan
Posts:2491
|
| 05/16/2007 12:12 PM |
Alert
|
| ok dukester, i've got to call you on this one. this is a great story and i'm glad to hear this girl is fine and is doing well. otherwise, why would anyone in there right minds want to discussl girls softball. it ranks down there with soccer and the wnba. |
|
dwight, refuting reality one post at a time. |
|
|
DMan
Posts:0
|
| 05/16/2007 2:31 PM |
Alert
|
| Is there a viral echo in the puter? My thoughts exactly Logan. I'm only posting on this one to agree. Sorry Mr. Dukester. |
|
|
|
|
Mr. Dukester
Posts:0
|
| 05/16/2007 5:41 PM |
Alert
|
Posted By DMan on 05/16/2007 2:31 PM
Is there a viral echo in the puter? My thoughts exactly Logan. I'm only posting on this one to agree. Sorry Mr. Dukester.
At one point in the not to distant past, Womens softball was big news in the State of Nebraska, now I know how fans of the mens team will start to feel in about a year or two!
|
|
|
|
|
gtown-seahawks
Posts:0
|
| 05/16/2007 10:58 PM |
Alert
|
| Wait a minute...women's softball was news in Nebraska??? Really??? Did this take place while I was on a business trip to Detroit??? |
|
|
|
|
Logan
Posts:2491
|
| 05/21/2007 2:06 PM |
Alert
|
| i recently saw on the front page of the sports section of the lincoln urinal star that creighton eliminated the skers womens carpet munch err softball team. |
|
dwight, refuting reality one post at a time. |
|
|
|