Feb. 16-18, 2001
STARKVILLE, MS – It was an interesting weekend to say the least for the Lady Eagles softball this past weekend in Starkville, MS for the Mississippi State tournament.
What should have been a simple four-game tournament turned out to be a very unusual weekend. It started on Friday when the softball team was supposed to face UT-Arlington at 2 p.m. The team got up that morning and had breakfast like any normal game day, but head coach Mark Cooke got a call from Mississippi State to tell him that his first game would be postponed till later in the day because a big storm was approaching and supposed to be hitting the town around 2 p.m.
It was more than just a storm. There were high winds, lots of rain and tornado warnings, which forced the team to take cover in the hallway of their hotel. The storm passed and all of the girls on the team were not harmed, but the town of Starkville was left without power and there were several trees and power lines down all over. The team lost to UT-Arlington 3-0, Mississippi State 14-2 and Drexel 7-4 in eight innings.
Cooke has made a timeline to take you through what he calls "The Softball Survivor Game":
Thursday, February 15
4:00 p.m. We pack the bus and leave for Starkville, MS and the Mississippi State Softball Tournament. We have battled the flu and several colds for the past week. We have four players still sick and two more beginning to get sick. We have plenty of cold medications on the bus to try and get them better and prevent spread. (Thanks Denis, our trainer).
4:30 p.m. No trash bags on the bus (Thanks Fundy, bus company owner). Quick stop to purchase.
5:30 p.m. No restroom tissue (Thanks again Fundy). We stop to eat and purchase necessities.
12:00 a.m. Arrive in Columbus at the Wingate after a great bus trip (Thanks Joe).
Friday, February 16
8:45 a.m. Woke up the players for the continental breakfast in the hotel.
10:30 a.m. Received a phone call from MSU softball office giving up a warning of possible thunderstorms moving into the area. (Thanks Coach Arendsen). Changed game time from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Area had already had four inches of rain and ground is saturated.
11:00 a.m. We decide to take out team to a local restaurant for a hot lunch. Coach Parks and I monitored the weather on television
12:30 p.m. Returned from lunch. Sent out players to rooms to rest before the game.
1:00 p.m. Call from MSU softball warning of sever storms and high winds. (Thanks Coach Arendsen)
1:15 p.m. Coach Parks and I decide to bring the players downstairs and put them into the hallway as precautionary measure.
1:30 p.m. Possible tornado in the Starkville area (20 miles west of us) and heading in our direction
1:35 p.m. Direct our players to sit in the hallway against the walls. They are not allowed to move until we give the all clear.
1:50 p.m. We see the weathers warnings on television and know we are in for it.
2:00 p.m. STORM HITS. Power is disrupted and hotel is dark. Winds are unbelievable strong. Players and parents are still in hallway. Coach Parks and I try to keep all doors closed and secure to prevent vacuums. Several players' dads help monitor doors.
2:20 p.m. HIGH winds are gone, but still very gusty and tremendous rainfall.
This is where I am proudest of the team. At no time, even though we were scared and frightened, did they panic, become hysterical or lose their cool. I am most proud of their trust in Coach Parks, Denis our trainer and me.
I am also grateful to have so many supportive parents on this team. We kept them involved and informed of our decisions. They not only supported our decisions, but worked to assist in all we did.
2:30 p.m. Players are calmed down and we move them to a conference room to be more comfortable. We use cell phones and the only available phones to call parents and Winthrop Athletics to let everyone know we are safe and secure. Long lines at the phones.
WAIT FOR POWER, NO POWER.
5:00 p.m. Coach Parks and a dad look for candles, flashlights, etc. I go with Mike Young to find a restaurant to eat with our team. We discover that there is nothing open. We go to McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, Arby's to try and buy anything that might still be there. There is nothing available. The last place we try is a Ryan's Steakhouse. The manager is on the phone in the foyer and I talk him in to letting me in. I explain the situation to him and he and I discuss several options. We call other places in the area. In the end, there is nothing available, not even a convenience store with food. No one has a register or a way to cook anything. I finally convince the manager to sell me steaks and potato salad. We buy 20 pounds of steak and 10 pounds of potato salad. The manager was very fair and honest about the charges and I cannot remember his name, but his very high on my list of great people we meet this weekend. He even gave us his tuparware storage container to keep the steaks in. (Thanks Ryan's Manager).
5:55 p.m. We meet at the hotel with other parents. The grill is out of propane. coach Parks is told there is not a place in the city to get propane. So coach Parks sets out to find some propane. He stops at the convenience store across the street from the hotel and they have propane. He convinces the employee to switch tanks with him and brings back the tank. He then goes to Wal-Mart to find other supplies we might need. (Portable radio, batteries, coffee pots, etc.) While he is gone, we hook up the propane tank and find out the grill needs to be repaired. Ten minutes later we have FIRE!
6:15 p.m. Team moms take over the pantry from the hotel and secure plates, platters, eating utensils and the largest knife in town to cut the steaks with. (They were monsters)
6:30 p.m. Coach Parks and others return from Wal-Mart. They are closed. One of our dads convince Rite Aid to open their doors and secures more candles and flashlights. It is amazing how fast those candles burn out if they are the only source of light you have.
7:00 p.m. Steaks are beginning to come off the grill. We cook for almost a solid hour to get all the steaks cooked. Twenty pounds of steak will feed 40 people, but a small propane grill takes forever. Our team eats steak and potato salad by candle light with their parents. They are probably five or so extra people in the hotel who are in the same situation we are and we share what we have with them.
8:15 p.m. Our players and some of the parents get on the bus and watch a movie. We have soft drinks and snacks for them.
10:25 p.m. Players return from the movie and are escorted to their floor by flashlight. Each room has a candle that we put into glasses to keep from starting a fire.
11:00 p.m. Coach Parks and I finally get to our rooms. What a day.
Saturday, February 17
5:30 a.m. Coach Parks and I start the day.
6:30 a.m. Players are woken up and begin to drift downstairs for breakfast. No hot food, just cereal, bagels and muffins.
7:30 a.m. We head for the field
8:00 a.m. Thank God for our game. The players are concentrating on the game and have a chance to put the weather, power, hot water behind them.
11:00 a.m. We lose a great game to UT-Arlington. We drive into Starkville and eat at Abners. The hot meal is really great. Thanks Abners. Our last game is at 3:00 p.m. against Mississippi State.
12:30 p.m. We have to stay on bus because we still have no power in hotel. We cannot sit and watch games because of the cold weather.
3:00 p.m. Mississippi State pounds us in the first inning. Then we settle down and play decent the rest of the way.
5:00 p.m. We try to find something other than fast food. Columbus is still out of power. After two turnarounds in our bus (not high on my list for excitement), including one on a detour we were sent on by the power company where the power lines were blocking our way. We had to turn around in court where lines and trees were down everywhere. (Good job Ray, our bus driver).
5:30 p.m. The only lights in the area are at the mall. We find a Picadilly and are able to sit down and eat.
7:00 p.m. Back to hotel, no POWER. We send part of the team with coach Parks back to MSU for showers. (Thanks Coach Arendsen). The rest of the team opts for cold showers or a lukewarm swim (haha) at the hotel. One of the moms stays in the pool area.
7:15 p.m. Parents make a Wal-Mart run. Wal-Mart is open. (Thanks Wal-Mart). We restock candles (did I tell you they are not long burning ones) and flashlights, along with any type of snacks and drinks available.
7:35 p.m. Players sit in lounge area and play cards, they cannot study because of the lights. I know Lincoln studied by firelight, but did I tell you how small the candles were?
10:00 p.m. Bus returns from Starkville. Players are clean and ready to sleep. Coach Parks stays downstairs with players calling on the only available phone while I go upstairs to make sure that only our people are on the floor. No lights, no phones, no security.
10:45 p.m. Last player in the room. I leave my door open (not smart) to hear anyone coming up stairs. Room got very cold, fast.
Sunday, February 18
7:30 a.m. Day has arrived and only warmth in room is from the sun's rays.
8:30 a.m. We leave for Starkville to find a a breakfast buffet. NO BUFFETS, we find only McDonalds or Burger King open. We stop at Barnhill's restaurant, but they do not serve breakfast. The manager calls the Ramada Inn next door and finds out they have a breakfast available since they were feeding the Notre Dame baseball team.
10:00 a.m. We get back to field and begin preparations for the game.
2:00 p.m. Game over. We lose in extra innings to Drexel. We get on the bus and leave Mississippi behind.
In the realm of retrospect from this past weekend, I am proud to be the coach of a great team.
Mark Cooke, head softball coach.
