CLEVELAND — The baseball team soon to be without a school has a growing fan base.
It seems the inspiring, unexpected journey that Birmingham-Southern College has taken on the diamond has won over some hearts.
The Panthers have kept their season alive even as the Alabama private liberal arts college with an enrollment of less than 1,000 is on the brink of shutting down for good this week. Along the way, they have captured interest outside of the BSC ranks, with supporters raising more than $100,000 to enhance the team’s trip to the eight-team NCAA Division III championship event near Cleveland.
As of Wednesday morning, the tally on a GoFundMe page had grown to $105,000, with an anonymous donor contributing $2,500.
Trey Hines, BSC’s sports information director for at least a few more days, said the support has been overwhelming.
“It’s been crazy,” Hines said by phone.
Before taking a chartered flight to Cleveland, the team gathered Wednesday at BSC one last time for a light workout.
The Panthers advanced to the tournament in Eastlake, Ohio, this past weekend despite their roster being flattened by what was initially thought to be food poisoning. Two players had to be hospitalized, and others received fluid intravenously behind the dugout during a win over Denison. Coach Jan Weisberg said the sweeping illness was actually a strand of norovirus.
After Saturday’s 7-6 win that clinched the trip, three more players got sick, including slugger Ian Hancock. Weisberg hopes his team has weathered the worst of the intestinal illness with symptoms that typically last 24 to 48 hours.
“Just looking at the roster, it can’t be too many more,” Weisberg told al.com. “I think we’re able to get ahead of it now at least because we know what it is. The team doctor says it presents itself like food poisoning. That’s why we initially thought it was food poisoning.”
The NCAA is paying the Panthers’ travel expenses to get to Ohio and back home, but the added money can go toward other things such as rings to honor them making it out of the super regional round. The plan is for any remaining funds to go to the coaching staff.
The Panthers (32-14) will play their opening game in the double-elimination bracket against Rhode Island’s Salve Regina (38-8) on Friday, the same day that BSC, founded in 1856, closes due to financial problems. Unable to secure a $30 million loan, school officials voted in March to shut down.
The Panthers have been swinging ever since, going 19-4 since the decision.
If they keep winning, they’ll be the only thing keeping BSC in existence.