CABOT, Ark. — Cabot High School is now home to one of the few all-turf fields for softball in the state of Arkansas.
"We have to give s a big thanks to our school board members, athletic directors and maintenance people," Head Coach Chris Cope said. "They told us a year ago they were doing this and it turned out real nice. It helps us on rain."
But this newly renovated field is not just any field. On Sunday, Jan. 2, it was dedicated to a very special group of ladies who graduated from Cabot nearly two years ago.
"It's dedicated to our 2020 seniors that lost their season due to COVID," Coach Cope said. "They got to play four games and didn't get a chance to repeat at state champions. They lost their season and we wanted to do something special for them."
Coach Cope invited the seniors from the 2020 team back home to watch as the field was unveiled, but little did they know, they will be apart of every run scored until the end of time.
"We made a plaque so they will always be remembered here," Coach Cope said. "It's kind of been an ongoing process. It was kind of hard when they all went off to college. We had them sign a ball, thinking it was for me. I buried that ball where home plate is right now, so they'll always know every run scored, they'll be apart of it."
Coming off a state championship in 2019, and with most of the same players coming back, the Cabot Lady Panther’s softball team had hoped for a repeat in 2020.
"We showed a highlight video [to the seniors] of the four games they played, then clips from their sophomore to their senior years. They all were starters — four year starters. Once we showed that [video], the whole team cried right then."
A simple but kind act by the Cabot High School softball program has now become a memory that will carry on in the school district forever.