With heavy hearts, Bison vie for Patriot League title

LEWISBURG — It’s not something they’ll ever forget, and hopefully, the most traumatic thing they’ll ever have to witness.

It was during a normal Thursday practice on April 30, with Bucknell’s baseball team gearing up for a Patriot League series against Lehigh when Bison coach Scott Heather collapsed.

“I don’t think any of our guys have seen anything like that before,” senior Michael Trommer said after practice on Thursday as the Bison prepped for the Patriot League Championship Series, which begins at Depew Field at Marren Park at 2 p.m. Monday against Holy Cross. “It was a scary situation. I think it brought us all together, players and coaches. I think for about a week or so after it happened, we really stuck together.

“We really just leaned on each other. To be honest, it was a really tough time.”

More than two weeks later, not much is known about Heather’s prognosis. Friends have set up a zeffy.com site for donations to support his wife Emily and daughters Ellie and Maren.

The Bucknell baseball team found some solace on the field. It hosts the championship series beginning Monday with hopes of a third NCAA tournament trip under Heather.

“We played Lehigh a couple of days later, and there were some questions on if we were going to be able to play that game,” Trommer said. “I think playing just helps take our mind off it, and I think it helped us mentally.”

Bison pitching coach Jason Neitz, a Mifflinburg High graduate and a former pitcher in the San Francisco Giants organization, was named interim coach for the rest of the season. It was a tough adjustment for Neitz, and not just because of the expanded role. He’s been Heather’s right-hand man for Heather’s 12 years as skipper, and his friend even longer.

“When Scott was an assistant, and I was still playing, (former coach) Gene (Depew) used to bring me over to pitch batting practice to his team,” Neitz said. “I was really able to foster a relationship at that time. Obviously, that relationship has grown into a great friendship. Scott gave me my first paying job in this business.

“He’s a great person to work for, and just awesome person overall.”

Neitz had two significant things to tackle besides his own feelings on the matter. One, he had to help the Bison handle the most traumatic experience many of them had encountered.

“I said to the guys constantly the first couple of days, ‘What you feel today, might not be what you feel tomorrow,’” Neitz said. “The other thing was constantly checking with the kids to make sure how they were doing, and honestly, they were doing the same thing for me — checking in, and just making sure I was doing okay.

“There is no blueprint for this. You don’t know what you’re going to be feeling and how it’s going to work out with all that stuff. It’s just about being a good person and making sure you are there for each other.”