While their Class of 2017 brothers and sisters walked the stage at commencement Saturday, Ben Calvano hit a 3-run triple, and Wes Noble earned his fourth win of the season on the mound in Campbell’s 11-5 triumph over Winthrop in Rock Hill, S.C.
They — along with teammates Drew Butler, Erik Dowse, Adam Wyse and Andrew Witczac and softball seniors Jessica Anderson, Bailey Bjorson, Amber Schisler, Lizbeth McCurry, Taylor Campbell and Taesha DuBoise — traded in their ball caps for mortarboards on Monday in Butler Chapel for the annual student-athlete ceremony that’s become a tradition for those whose commitments on the field have kept them away from commencement. More than 100 friends, family and teammates were on hand to cheer them on.
“Student-athletes are goal oriented to begin with,” President J. Bradley Creed told the 12 graduates. “Their sports require discipline. And today marks the completion of a pretty important goal — earning that diploma. This marks one of the most important achievements you’ll have in your lifetime.”
Monday did not mark the absolute end for any of the athletes. Campbell Baseball has four regular season games left on its schedule before beginning the Big South Conference Tournament in Lexington, South Carolina, on May 23.
After an early elimination from its own conference tournament, the softball squad learned over the weekend it qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championships, with their regional bracket playing at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia on Tuesday (the team left campus by bus shortly after Monday’s ceremony). The tournament will mark the Camels’ first postseason appearance since playing in the NCAA Regional Tournament in Chapel Hill in 2009.