The chants of 'Thank you 40' echoed throughout Pete Taylor Park as Southern Miss coach Scott Berry coached the final game of his career.
As Berry soaked in the moment while filled with emotion all the old coach could do was wave his hat to the crowd as a sign of thanks.
"I was very humbled over that and not expecting that," Berry said. "I think to me, and it ensures the relationships that I have been able to build with the people outside of our team. For them to tip their hat to me tonight meant the world to me."
It wasn't the ending that Berry, his team, or the Golden Eagle faithful would have liked, as USM's season ended in a 5-0 loss to Tennessee in the Hattiesburg Super Regional.
"Congrats to Tennessee, but when they were dogpiling, it was chants of USM and Coach Berry were surrounding the Pete - that's just a little glimpse of what Coach Berry has meant to this program and what he has meant to me as a person and players that are here now and have been here," said team captain Justin Storm. "It's hard to describe, but that's just an example of seeing how much he has meant to us and everybody that was in the stands tonight."
Regardless of the ending, Berry's career does not erase the 23-year coaching legacy and all the on and off-the-field accomplishments that the retiring coach has achieved.
"I think a big part of Coach Berry's legacy, and I probably played with 100 or so guys while I was here, was that you are going to see someone become good fathers, good husbands, and good people out in the community," said co-captain Danny Lynch. "That's the biggest thing he does here is that he builds good men."
On the field, he'll go down as the winningest coach in Southern Miss baseball history with 528 wins which includes 10 NCAA tournament appearances, five regular season conference titles, five conference tournament championships and two consecutive super regional appearances. And those many good times are what Berry will cherish and remember the most.
"I will spend the rest of my time remembering and thinking about the good times (and) the good wins," Berry said. "I won't be thinking about the disappointing ones. I've been very blessed to be surrounded by very good coaches and very good players, and a great administration. Those are things that I'll remember with whatever I do. I'll have a lot of time to do that. I'll put away my silly superstitions that drive me crazy. I won't have to worry about that anymore.
"I'm going to reflect on all the good times, and not just as a head coach but as an assistant coach with my buddy Coach (Corky) Palmer and all the great things that we were able to do together."
However, Berry himself won't be remembered just for his wins. What Berry will be remembered for is how he naturally could make an impact on each player and person in their life. It's a way of life that he has preached to his program, and lives by himself.
"When we have our first meeting in August, we always talk about to these players that the most important thing is that people remember who the person you were," said a tearful Berry. "They won't remember how many home runs that Matt Wallner hit. They won't remember how many wins Nick Sandlin had. Those numbers will fade, but the person you are and the teammate you are, the coach you are and how you care for people, and how you try to mold people around you. That's what people will remember the most. That's a big part of who I am.
"That's part of our program."
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