{"id":29583,"date":"2016-08-26T11:12:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-26T15:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=29583"},"modified":"2016-08-31T14:00:05","modified_gmt":"2016-08-31T18:00:05","slug":"golf-tournament-helps-raise-funds-memorialize-emu-teammate-softball-stadium-improvements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/golf-tournament-helps-raise-funds-memorialize-emu-teammate-softball-stadium-improvements\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf tournament helps raise funds to memorialize EMU teammate through softball stadium improvements"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Suddenly, it was no longer about softball, recruiting or winning games.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It was about her. The softball player who was always smiling, always outgoing and always giving the coach recruiting her a hug when he managed to drive over the Blue Ridge to see Kaitlin Aylor play for Madison County High School.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It was a rough drive back for Eastern Mennonite University softball coach J.D. McCurdy after he got a phone call on the only strip of land atop some mountain in West Virginia that offered him a cell signal. His hunting trip cut short.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Aylor\u2019s life was taken away too soon.<\/div>\n
\n

\u201cIt was a tough week for all of us,\u201d McCurdy says, \u201cour coaches and our kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"softball<\/a>
Kent Aylor helps plant a tree in honor of his daughter, Kaitlin, a softball player who planned to attend Eastern Mennonite University with EMU President Loren Swartzendruber (left), head coach J.D. McCurdy, and athletic director Dave King.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the morning of Aug. 16, 2014, Aylor died after getting thrown from an ATV in a single-vehicle accident in Fluvanna County the night before, according to reports. McCurdy got the call and drove back to Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The EMU coaches who turned a recruitment into a relationship \u2014 common, McCurdy says, with his program \u2014 and the players ready to welcome Aylor, \u201cjust a solid softball player,\u201d into the arms of the team were all crushed. She hadn\u2019t played a game in an EMU uniform yet, but it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

She was one of them, and she was gone. The relationship between recruiter, coaches and players had already been built.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Again, it wasn\u2019t about softball anymore. It was about Aylor and her family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Two years later, it\u2019s still about Aylor at EMU. What would have been her \u201c00\u201d jersey hangs in the dugout during games. It was her number in high school, and McCurdy had one made up for her \u2014 the first of many dedications to Aylor\u2019s life that would soon come at the small Division III college nestled in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The latest, McCurdy hopes, comes in October when the school plans on finishing the inground bleachers behind home plate at Gehman Field, naming a portion of them in Aylor\u2019s honor. A bit short on funds, McCurdy and assistant coach Danny Conley are hosting a miniature golf tournament on Saturday at Mulligan\u2019s Golf Center.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hoping for a great turnout,\u201d McCurdy says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It should come as no surprise that McCurdy and his program would take these kinds of steps to honor someone who never played an inning of softball for the Royals. Small colleges are small colleges, and without massive recruiting budgets, head coaches and the few assistants they have take the personable approach. Some of the girls are shy, but not Aylor, McCurdy says. And it was that vivacious personality, along with her skills as an infielder, that caught the veteran coach\u2019s eye.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe spend hours recruiting, and you build a relationship with the family, with the kids you\u2019re recruiting,\u201d McCurdy says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0Then he pauses.<\/div>\n
\n

\u201cThat was a tragic thing that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

His voice trails off, until he starts talking about the hugs, the personality and the rapport he and his staff built with Aylor and her family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

It\u2019s still not about softball; it never will be when anybody at EMU talks about Aylor. It will be about her, the jersey, the banner with her name on it that reads \u201cYesterday\u2019s home runs don\u2019t win today\u2019s games.\u201d It will be about the inground bleachers bearing her name and that one redbud tree just behind the team\u2019s dugout that was planted in her memory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cA line of trees,\u201d McCurdy says, \u201cand it\u2019s right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sticking out amid the rest of the trees, always seen and never forgotten on the EMU campus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Much like Kaitlin Aylor.<\/p>\n

This editorial by Daily News-Record sports editor Jim Sacco was published 8\/25\/2016.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mini-golf tournament Saturday<\/h3>\n

The EMU softball program hosts the Kaitlin Aylor Memorial Miniature Golf Tournament Saturday, Aug. 27. The tournament is a miniature golf fundraiser at Mulligan’s Golf Center’s<\/a> recently renovated course in Harrisonburg.<\/p>\n

Proceeds will go to the Kaitlin Aylor Memorial Fund to fund seating improvements at EMU’s Gehman Field. The project will also name a portion of the stands in Aylor’s honor.<\/p>\n

Activities start at 8:30am, with flights of miniature golf set to start at 9:00am and 10:00am. Flighted prizes will be awarded, along with free drink and food, including turkey and ham sandwiches. Cost is $20 for adults and $10 for ages 12 and under. Participants can take part in a 50\/50 raffle. Hole sponsorships are also available.<\/p>\n

To register or for more information, call head coach J.D. McCurdy<\/strong> at 540-246-2035 or assistant coach Danny Conley<\/strong> at 540-271-8519.<\/p>\n

Aylor was a Madison County High School softball player who died in an ATV accident in August of 2014, shortly before she was to begin her college career at Eastern Mennonite University.\u00a0Construction on the project at Gehman Field will begin next fall. EMU also planted a tree in Aylor’s honor before a game this past season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Suddenly, it was no longer about softball, recruiting or winning games. It was about her. The softball player who was always smiling, always outgoing and always giving the coach recruiting ... read more about Golf tournament helps raise funds to memorialize EMU teammate through softball stadium improvements<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,5178],"tags":[13675],"feature":[17241],"class_list":["post-29583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-softball","tag-j-d-mccurdy","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nGolf tournament helps raise funds to memorialize EMU teammate through softball stadium improvements - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/golf-tournament-helps-raise-funds-memorialize-emu-teammate-softball-stadium-improvements\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Golf tournament helps raise funds to memorialize EMU teammate through softball stadium improvements - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Suddenly, it was no longer about softball, recruiting or winning games. 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