Chapel Cunningham knows what a home run sounds like. There’s a particular tone to the “thwack” of the bat that a seasoned player can hear (and feel) when a ball is destined to clear the outfield fence.
On a Saturday in late February in Lakeland, Florida, Cunningham, a Chattanoogan who plays shortstop for the Southeastern University Fire softball team, heard that unmistakable home run “thwack” while she was playing defense. The ball flew directly over Cunningham’s head at shortstop, tracking in a sky-high arc above the deepest part of left-center field. The batter was Grand View University catcher Kaitlyn Moses.
“She hit it, and I was like, ‘Wow!'” Cunningham said in an interview while visiting at her mother’s home in Hixson for Christmas break. “She hit it farther than I’ve ever seen a ball hit, honestly.”