July 23, 2017
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - For a player who enjoyed a storybook career, it's only fitting that Kasey Cooper's final at-bat at Jane B. Moore Field resembled a Hollywood ending.
Left-handed uppercut swing. Ball sails over wall. Coop touches 'em all. Curtain call.
"Just having that great at-bat, and having all the crowd stand up one last time ended on a good note on this field," said Cooper, Auburn's career home run leader.
"It feels amazing," said Cooper of the home crowd in Saturday's exhibition between the USA Softball Women's National Team and a team of college stars. "We've had tremendous support, and to see that it was sold out at Auburn, it's amazing. It tells me that Auburn's always going to be a home to me, and that I'm also going to be welcomed, and leaving that legacy."
Instead of fading to black, Cooper and her Team USA teammates will head to the Dominican Republic Aug. 4-13 for the Pan American Championship qualifier.
She's also playing professionally this summer with the Scrap Yard Dawgs, a team based near Houston.
"I like to play softball," Cooper said. "And I want to play while I can."
After that, it's back to Auburn for Cooper, who plans to graduate next spring with a mechanical engineering degree.
"I'll be back in September, ready for a couple weeks of down time, and the coaches out here willing to help me, training back up."
After the exhibition doubleheader, which the USA Softball Women's National Team swept, Cooper signed autographs for every requesting fan.
Just like members of Team USA did for Cooper years ago when she saw the national team play in Montgomery, not knowing the young autograph seeker would one day wear the red, white and blue.
"I was that one who scaled the lines," said Cooper, recalling her resourcefulness. "I'm pretty sure they had single lines after that.
"I remember it was muddy. It rained a lot. My shoes, I had mud all the way up to my ankles and I didn't care, because I had those signatures. I still have that ball, and still have the signatures on a wall back home."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer