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Four weeks ago, the Willamette baseball team got in some snowy trouble on the way to the Portland International Airport for their season opening games in Memphis, Tennessee. When the team’s bus got stuck in Beaverton, Oregon, the baseball players decided to take their fate into their own hands and push the bus themselves.
The Feb. 14 blizzard dropped 3.5 inches in Salem, which deteriorated driving conditions and redirected the Bearcat’s bus south to a highway on-ramp in Beaverton. On the way up the ramp, the bus suddenly came to a stop and got stuck in the slush behind a cement truck. With nowhere to go and more cars piling up behind them, the formally-dressed baseball players filed out of the bus and into the cold to help place chains around the tires and push the bus from behind.
Utility player Jackson Garrett (ʼ24), a grad student in the MBA program, recounted the story.
“We all kinda formed a big bubble behind the bus, and it was funny because our theme for this game was business trip attire … so I am in a full suit and dress shoes and we are all forming this box and yelling, ‘Mush! Mush!’”
After some time, the bus driver was able to make it to a Fred Meyer parking lot. In the store, the Bearcats warmed up and ate lunch while bonding over a claw machine victory. A new bus was sent to rescue them later that evening.
“We definitely made the most of it,” said infielder Charlie Ferbet (ʼ26). “We could’ve let it get us down, but I would say that the morale was pretty high. As crazy as it sounds, I think it did bring the team closer together — working toward one goal, trying to get the bus moving.”