Don Owen: Dreadful weather aside, spring always brings back fun memories of old NKU P.A. system

As we suffer through a spring that refuses to leave winter behind, area high schools and colleges are actually playing sports — even if the athletes and coaches need parkas and/or rain-repellant ponchos more than uniforms.

Yes, rainouts and other athletic events canceled due to the cold have dominated the local sports scene more than home runs and no-hitters the past four weeks. Somehow, though, many schools have managed to squeeze in a number of contests despite the adverse conditions.

Bringing up adverse conditions and spring sports always takes me back to the late 1990s, when I was the sports information director at Northern Kentucky University. It was one of those defining moments of unintended comedy that can only materialize in college athletics. I still see it — rather, I should say, hear it — like it happened 10 minutes ago, even though it was 1998.

It happened during an NKU baseball home doubleheader, against which team I’m not absolutely certain. I think the opponent was Kentucky Wesleyan, but I won’t swear to it. I seem to recall seeing a lot of purple that day. Maybe it was because of the threatening rain clouds. A passing afternoon shower had become a light drizzle, and the skies were actually clearing between innings in the second game.

But our public address system, a smallish device called the handheld MiniVox, passed away while NKU was batting. It went completely silent, quit in the middle of a game. Maybe the battery died, or perhaps too many raindrops finally caused it to malfunction.

Up to the SID plate stepped an ingenious student worker named Chris Cole, who improvised after the MiniVox expired at a most inopportune moment.

“Now batting for NKU,” Cole yelled into the stands, his hands cupped around his mouth, “the shortstop, Ryan Ponatoski!”

First of all, you must understand that NKU did not have a baseball press box at the time. Shielded from the field by a chain-link fence, the SID staff sat behind home plate on the cement steps, equipped with tables and chairs.

NKU’s Friendship Field was the only place on Earth that you could get a sunburn on one side of you face, and a windburn on the other. No speakers, no electricity, no shelter. Just the handheld MiniVox. But it had unexpectedly died, never to be used again as the official sound system for selected NKU sports.

The fans — most of them members of the players’ families — enjoyed Cole’s backup P.A. strategy. So did I, even though the whole episode was somewhat embarrassing at the time. But you must keep in mind that NKU was still in Division II and the funding for athletics was miniscule by today’s standards. The story, however, became a point of laughter for everyone in the department.

Now, even 20 years later, I still see it — er, I mean, hear it.

To no one’s surprise, Cole went on to become a highly respected professional in the communications field. From student worker at NKU, he later emerged as the assistant commissioner at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

After a stint as SID at Missouri-St. Louis, Cole returned to NKU and spent 18 years as a pivotal member of the Marketing & Communications department. He recently accepted the position of director of enterprise communications for Sanitation District No. 1, where he will likely never have to utilize his expertise with the handheld MiniVox.

But you never know, and Cole is outstanding at improvisation.

RECORD-SETTING NORSE: Friday marks the 13th anniversary of the NKU softball program making national history. On April 27, 2005, NKU set the NCAA Division II record for longest winning streak by posting a 2-1 victory over Ashland in the first game of a doubleheader in bone-chilling temperatures at Ashland, Ohio.

The Norse improved to 41-0 with the opening-game victory and became the only softball team in Division II history to win 41 straight. Kennesaw State had won 40 consecutive games in 1995.

NKU eventually set a collegiate softball record by starting the season 55-0. That team also captured the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region championship for the second straight season and won a pair of games at the Division II World Series before having its 55-game winning streak snapped by eventual national champion Lynn (Fla.).

Ironically, Lynn vacated the 2005 national championship after the NCAA discovered the head coach had made improper payments to a pair of players.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN: Krystal Lewallen’s dominating presence in the circle keyed NKU’s record-breaking 55-0 start. She finished the 2005 season with a 32-1 record and led the nation in earned run average for the second straight year. Lewallen earned National Player of the Year honors from the NFCAA and later was named the Honda Award winner, which is given to the nation’s top collegiate female athlete.

A two-time All-American, Lewallen stunned everyone around NKU after the season by transferring to Louisiana-Lafayette for her final year of eligibility. Lewallen, who wanted to elevate her game to the Division I level after three successful years with NKU, had narrowed her choice down to Louisiana-Lafayette and UCLA.

“I had a great visit and was appreciative of the players who took time from their summer breaks to welcome me to [Louisiana-Lafayette],” Lewallen said at the time. “I look forward to the challenge of helping this team compete on the national level.”

Despite the shocking loss of Lewallen in 2006, NKU posted a 41-21 record and came within a game of winning its third consecutive regional championship. Needing to beat host Southern Illinois Edwardsville just once, NKU dropped two straight games in the championship round of the regional.

Contact Don Owen at don@nkytrib.com and follow him on Twitter at @dontribunesport