SEMINOLE, Fla. (WFLA) – The coronavirus pandemic cut the seasons short for athletes at all stages of the game. But for the two seniors on the Seminole High School softball team, they still Florida managed to celebrate “Senior Night” with their friends and their families.
Brianna Pauley shared her reaction to the parade that drove by her home.
“I cried,” she admitted with a laugh, “because it was so sad, like, all of my girls, I had not been able to see them and they were like, ‘I love you!’ and, ‘I miss you!’ and ‘Happy Senior Night!’ and it was so sad to think about it.”
It was emotional but it was also memorable.
Pauley never expected her Senior Night to happen outside of her house in the form of a procession of cars filled with some of her favorite people.
“They had signs and gifts and they were all in our cars and they were honking and parents were there and they drove by,” she said.
The 18-year-old outfielder, who actually switched positions to be a catcher this year, never expected to miss her senior softball season either.
“I was like, ‘Oh no, that is so sad,’” she recalled thinking when she heard the news of the cancellation. “I am not going to be able to play any more games but I did not think of everything else that goes into it. Just being with the girls, like, literally, every practice we were listening to music and dancing and hanging out with each other and that is what I miss the most.”
The team had high hopes for the 2020 season. They actually started the year with a surprise upgrade to their field complete with new gear from Dick’s Sporting Goods and Nike.
“New nets, balls, everything,” said Pauley, “and, then, they completely dressed us for an event. We got to meet Team USA.”
The Warhawks played five games in the regular season before the pandemic caused it to come to a screeching halt.
“I had suspicions that it was going to be over but I was not exactly sure,” said Pauley.
The uncertainty still lingers in regards to when the world will return to normal but, for the Warhawks, they are certainly getting through it together.
“Nothing is really going to break us up,” Pauley said. “We are still a team.”
She plans to start taking college classes in the fall and she hopes to join the Coast Guard Academy in the future.
