Article in today's Dom Post...excerpts below
West Virginia doesn’t have a softball team. Iowa State has no baseball team. So a friendship was formed between the Big 12 s ch o o l s ’ existing squads on the diamond as well as among their fans. “It’s kind of taken a life of its own, it appears,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said.
Fast forward to last Friday, when Iowa State made a weekend trip to play softball at Oklahoma State. West Virginia was already in Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a three-game baseball series. Nelson stepped forward on Twitter to ask if anyone associated with the Mountaineers had extra t i cke t s. “We really wanna support our baseball team tomorrow at OSU,” Nelson tweeted. “Could you help us make that happen?” West Virginia pitcher Noah Short responded, “We ’ll hook y’all up!” “Let’s gooooo!” Nelson re plied.
Mazey was among the last to find out. As he was bringing in a relief pitcher against the Cowboys, the coach noticed cheering from the stands past the first-base line. “Who is the world is that up there?” Maz ey recalled asking one of his assistant coaches. “It’s kind of unusual to have a cheering section in Stillwater, Oklahoma. And they said, ‘T hat’s the Iowa State softball team.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s pretty cool.’ ”
Iowa State, which has struggled to a 16-25 record this season, then went out Sunday and beat thirdranked Oklahoma State 3-2 in 11 innings. Nelson tweeted a video of Iowa State players singing West Vi r g i n i a ’s unofficial anthem “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on the team bus.
West Virginia doesn’t have a softball team. Iowa State has no baseball team. So a friendship was formed between the Big 12 s ch o o l s ’ existing squads on the diamond as well as among their fans. “It’s kind of taken a life of its own, it appears,” West Virginia coach Randy Mazey said.
Fast forward to last Friday, when Iowa State made a weekend trip to play softball at Oklahoma State. West Virginia was already in Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a three-game baseball series. Nelson stepped forward on Twitter to ask if anyone associated with the Mountaineers had extra t i cke t s. “We really wanna support our baseball team tomorrow at OSU,” Nelson tweeted. “Could you help us make that happen?” West Virginia pitcher Noah Short responded, “We ’ll hook y’all up!” “Let’s gooooo!” Nelson re plied.
Mazey was among the last to find out. As he was bringing in a relief pitcher against the Cowboys, the coach noticed cheering from the stands past the first-base line. “Who is the world is that up there?” Maz ey recalled asking one of his assistant coaches. “It’s kind of unusual to have a cheering section in Stillwater, Oklahoma. And they said, ‘T hat’s the Iowa State softball team.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s pretty cool.’ ”
Iowa State, which has struggled to a 16-25 record this season, then went out Sunday and beat thirdranked Oklahoma State 3-2 in 11 innings. Nelson tweeted a video of Iowa State players singing West Vi r g i n i a ’s unofficial anthem “Take Me Home, Country Roads” on the team bus.
