The Cellar - Chelsea Oglevie, You Rock!

from Ellen's Good News, via Yahoo Shine

Quote:

It was the last inning Chelsea Oglevie would ever pitch for her softball team at Florida Southern College. The 21-year-old senior was pitted against Kara Oberer, 19, a sophomore at Eckerd College, who Oglevie knew was a good hitter.

With two strikes and two outs, and runners on two bases, Oglevie threw a high pitch and Oberer hit a home run, but it was what happened afterwards that was most remarkable. En route to first base, Oberer's knee locked up, and she was forced to hop to the plate. When she couldn't make it any further, Oglevie and a second baseman ran over, picked up their opponent, and carried her around to each plate, so that she could finish her run.

It didn't matter that Oglevie had lost the game, or that she would never pitch again for her team; it only mattered that that she was a good sport. Oberer had injured her PCL early in the match-up, and Oglevie said it was her first instinct to reach out and help a player in need.

"I knew she was hurt and that it was her heart that was pushing her," Oglevie told the Good News Blog. "I saw her try to take a few steps and just the pain and emotion I saw made it clear she wasn't going to make it by herself. I respected her as an athlete for doing such an amazing thing."

Oberer initially didn't realize what was happening, but afterward, she made sure to respond to the amazing gesture.

"I couldn't even express the gratitude I had for them," Oberer remarks. "As soon as the game ended, I thanked them. It was such a selfless act. It really takes a lot. That was the last pitch of her career, but she didn't think twice about it."

After Oglevie and her teammate brought Oberer across home plate, Oglevie immediately broke down in tears. Though she may not have ended with a strikeout, the finish was bigger than she could have ever imagined.

It didn't end there. The story of Oglevie's act of kindness has been picked up by both local and national news outlets, including three different ESPN channels.

"I'm just completely blown away with the impact that it's had on pretty much the country," Oglevie says. "It would have been great to go out with another win under my belt, but it's even more amazing that people grasped onto this event because of the happiness and sportsmanship it shows… I'd rather get another million hits off me if it meant so much happiness and kindness would spread."

Oglevie graduates this weekend, and will be getting her MBA and Master's in Sports and Entertainment Management at the University of South Florida this fall. She's the first in her family to go to college, and intends to give back to them for supporting her all these years.

"I feel like I've been blessed with a scholarship to play softball in college," Oglevie says. "I want to be able to get the best job so I can help support my family in the future."

Props, also, to the unidentified second baseperson.

Too infrequently, we see a kid who actually gives you hope for the future...