Iowa softball team heads to state after devastating bus accident
By Shannon Ehrhardt
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REMSEN, Iowa (KCCI) — The Remsen St. Mary’s softball team is heading to the state tournament for the fifth time in six seasons, carrying a renewed perspective after a life-changing bus accident eight months ago.
The accident involved the Remsen St. Mary’s girls basketball team and left three players in critical condition.
“I didn’t really know how serious it was until she told me, like, no, it was pretty much all of our softball girls are on the bus and, like, three of them are in critical condition,” softball coach Erika Bates described learning about the crash.
Senior catcher Grace Galles was one of the students on the bus.
“I broke my shoulder in two places, and then I had internal bleeding and a traumatic brain injury,” she said. “My brain, I don’t remember, like, five days. That whole stretch, it was just out the window.”
Junior infielder Hallie Bunkers also suffered significant injuries.
“I fractured two parts of my neck, so I was in a neck brace for a few months, and then obviously I had a laceration on my face,” she said. “So basically it was like sliced open from, like, here to here. We don’t really know what caused that, but it flipped open something.”
Bunkers recalled waking up during the crash.
“When we first got in the crash, I was sleeping, and then I awoke to it, and I woke to this girl holding my head together. So I, like, she’s like my guardian angel,” she said.
Both Galles and Bunkers made full recoveries after extensive rehabilitation.
“Like, we couldn’t walk without help for a while, and now we’re running around the bases, diving headfirst, like doing all this crazy stuff that we wouldn’t have believed eight months ago,” Galles said.
Sophomore Brielle Schorg’s injuries were life-altering.
“We got hit; it broke my spinal cord… from here down I’m paralyzed. I can’t feel anything at all,” Schorg said. “I fell asleep and woke up in the ICU. I had three-second clips; I didn’t know they were real. Laying in the ditch, ran through the hallway of the hospital, laying on the surgery table — I thought it was a dream. That’s all I remembered.”
The coach reflected on Schorg’s talent and spirit.
“If you could see Brielle play, it was really unlike any athlete that I’ve coached. She was just so great and graceful in everything she did. I mean, she was just good at everything,” Bates said.
Despite her circumstances, Schorg has chosen to embrace life.
“Some people can decide whether or not they want to still live their life out of it. I choose to surrender to God. I didn’t want this life, but I’m gonna live it for you anyways. Choosing happiness when you wake up keeps me going. Ally my friends are so supportive and make sure I don’t miss out on anything,” she said. “Just because I’m in a wheelchair doesn’t restrict me. Choosing if you wanna be happy or be sad—at the end of the day, I can’t do anything about it.”
Her teammates admire her resilience and positivity.
“To have her here, she truly brings, like, the most energy. We know she wants to be out there with us, and she can’t be. And she doesn’t let that bring her down. She’s the definition of a teammate. She builds us up. She’s here for us. She cheers us on. She’s there for us,” one teammate said.
Another teammate shared how Brielle’s presence continues to inspire.
“Brielle’s been my best friend for, like, all of high school, and I think it is so hard. She was, like, the third baseman. I was the shortstop last year. Like, we were always, like, right there with each other. So although she’s not on the field with me, when I come into the dugout after I just got out or after I just made a play, she’s there for me, helping me up. ‘You got the next play.’ And we wouldn’t be going to state without her. We truly wouldn’t because she is there every step of the way. She’s been amazing. I don’t know how she does it, but I look up to her every day.”
Brielle has found new ways to stay involved with the team.
“I went from sports every day. I still wanted to feel like I was playing the sport even if I’m not. But I see myself out in the game. I know part of me is out there, just supporting my girls,” she said.
Her teammates affectionately call her the “snack lady.”
“She puts all of her seeds and all of her gummy clusters and her snacks in her bag. Yes, she’s a snack lady. Although I would be hesitant to eat all the snacks because I’m pretty sure she pulled out gummy worms the other day that were from, like, a month ago. But everybody still eats them,” one teammate joked.
The accident has given the team a new perspective on life and the game.
“Playing now, it just means so much more. Like, you don’t take anything for granted anymore because, like, it happened in an instant. Like, why? Why did it have to be us? We don’t know. But now we have that knowledge that it can be taken away from us. So just, like, playing with my best friends, like, it is just the best feeling in the world. And I will never take that for granted again,” one player said.
Another added, “When you go through something so life-changing, you figure out that you want to live every moment to its fullest. I want people to know your life can change in a second. Don’t take advantage of it.”
The team believes their journey has made them stronger.
“I think we’re a team of destiny because we have gone through this. We don’t, like, let this define us as, like, a team or as people. So, like, together, we just, like, came together, and we’re like, hey, we can do this,” one player said.
Remsen St. Mary’s will face St. Edmond in the state tournament Monday night in Fort Dodge.
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