The Terriers are thrilled to have started their first competitive season of softball on their newly-established field. Having never had a competitive season nor an official home field of their own, the team is ecstatic about the new development. The construction of Hope Field began in Spring 2021 and was completed just in time for Spring 2024.
“Our stadium is incredible. We’ve hosted six different opponents so far and everyone has had wonderful things to say. It’s beautiful. We get so many compliments from fans in the stands,” said Chelsea Butler, head softball coach. “Everything is so positive, and we’re able to come to a beautiful stadium every day and get quality work in, no matter what.”
The story of how the field got its name has impacted both the players and the coaches of the team. It was named after Hope Filchak, who is currently only twelve years old and the granddaughter of Wofford alum Tom Bower ‘74.
Filchak was born with MLS syndrome, a rare genetic condition that would have taken her life, had she not been born a female. Various doctors claimed that she would not be able to walk, speak, see or hear. However, with her triumphant spirit, she proved the doctors wrong. She became a beacon of miraculous hope.
“Hope Filchak continues to defy the odds and lives the life God has given her,” said Bayley Betsill ‘26, a right-outfielder on the team.
“Honestly it’s exciting for us to get to go out to see Hope Field every day and represent something so much bigger than us, so much bigger than softball (and) get to represent a family, a young woman who we know just courageously fight(s) every day,” Butler said.
With ten games in, the team has over forty left to go. The team looks forward to a productive and rewarding rest of the season ahead.
“We’ve already entered a stretch until finals are over. Truthfully, this is team one,” said Butler.
“We expect the ups and downs, but every week we show up to be productive and we get a little bit better and a little bit stronger, and we’re putting things together that we hadn’t weeks previous.”
Filchak’s story has inspired not only the players and coaches on the field, but the Wofford community as well.
“One of our core values is legacy, and (the players) picked that,” said Butler. “When we turn around and look at Wofford softball in 20 years, what does it look like? Was our hand in it to make sure we left this program better than we found it? Which obviously it didn’t exist before we found it, so (it’s) making sure we do the little things every single day.”
Multiple donations and tributes from alumni made the naming of the field possible. Butler and the team are encouraged by this development, as it is the start of something bigger for the rest of the softball program’s future.
