Birmingham-Southern's run ends in D-III WS after school's closing - ESPN

EASTLAKE, Ohio — There is indeed crying in baseball, and for Birmingham-Southern, there were also many tears of joy.

A magnificent, almost magical postseason ride ended in heartbreak.

More heartbreak.

The Panthers' inspiring run, which came as the liberal arts college in Alabama was being shut down for financial failure after more than 160 years, ended Sunday with an 11-10 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater in the Division III College World Series.

It was a painful, seemingly unfair finish for a never-say-die team that had lifted a tight-knit community devastated by the school's closing while captivating the hearts of American sports fans who could relate to the Panthers' feel-good story, a mixture of loss, grief and pride.

«I don't feel sadness right now and I mean it,» said coach Jay Weisberg, who took over BSC's program in 2007 and built into one of the nation's strongest at the D-III level. «The ride that these guys have given me this year has been absolutely incredible.

»Coaching is what I love, and these guys have made it so fun."

Birmingham-Southern built a 10-5 lead through six innings, but couldn't put away Wisconsin-Whitewater, which scored two runs in the seventh, three in the eighth and got a walk-off homer from Sam Paden leading off the ninth.

Someone had to be the villain.

When Paden's homer cleared the wall in left, several Birmingham-Southern players stood still as if frozen in disbelief.

There wouldn't be a storybook ending after all.

After briefly gathering his team in the outfield, Weisberg had his players and the alums who had made the trip from all over the country to see the Panthers one last time stand single file along the third-base line.

Together they tipped their caps to the BSC fans in the ballpark,