FORT MYERS, Fla. — The past month has been a blur for Owen Bowers, filled with walk-off hits, celebrations, a new place to call home and memories she said that will last a lifetime.
When she graduated from Richmond Senior High School in 2018, Bowers had two major goals she wanted to accomplish while playing softball at Florida SouthWestern State University.
And both came to fruition in the last couple of weeks.
Putting an exclamation point at the end of her FSW softball career, Bowers and the Buccaneers won the 2021 National Junior College Athletic Association national championship in Yuma, Ariz. on May 29.
That was goal No. 1 checked off the list. The other was getting the opportunity to continue her career and play Division I softball, which Bowers will do over the next two years at Presbyterian College.
Bowers made that announcement on May 5, and signed her National Letter of Intent just as the Buccaneers began steamrolling their way to a second-place finish in the FCSAA state tournament en route to their national title win.
But a lot of uncertainty surrounded Bowers’ future because of the pandemic. Bowers, who is FSW’s all-time RBI leader and a two-time First Team All-State selection, decided to use her extra year of eligibility and remain in south Florida.
“This year definitely had a lot going on,” Bowers said. “The team came together in August and we tried to figure out how we were going to do everything because of corona. That was a good start to where we wanted to get to.
“We worked hard in practice, and our coaches are the best,” she added. “This group of girls had a lot of talent and we worked well as a team. There were a lot of us who had experience playing in the state or national tournament, and that helped.”
Entering the NJCAA national tournament as the No. 3 seed, Bowers and FSW earned five consecutive wins and defeated No. 4 Grayson College (Texas) 5-1 to become the Division I champions.
The Buccaneers broke a tie in the top of the seventh, scoring four runs to secure the championship hardware.
“When we finished second in states, there was a fire under us,” Bowers explained. “That was the first game we’d lost in a long time, so we picked it up at nationals. We played with another level of energy and as a team, we looked at it one game at a time.
“We scored those four runs in the last inning, and that was a big stress relief,” she added of the win over Grayson. “I was in the dugout and we got two outs — that’s when I realized this was all real. We came together as a team and I’m so happy for all of us.”
Bowers said that when the final out was recorded and the team stormed the field in celebration, it was “an insane moment I can’t put into words.”
FSW outscored its opponents 44-20 in the national tournament, and Bowers impressed by going 9-for-15 at the plate (.600 batting average). She recorded seven RBIs, including four in a 14-13 second-round win over No. 6 Seminole State College (Okla.).
In that same game, Bowers recorded a walk-off, two-RBI single up the middle with the bases loaded and two outs. She also recorded the walk-off RBI in a 10-2 mercy-rule win over No. 11 San Jacinto College (Texas) in the semifinal game.
“We were down by seven runs and I was thinking how we were one run away from being mercy-ruled,” Bowers recalled of the Seminole State game. “Coach (Kellie) Quarles got us all together and said we’re going to win this game.
“And my teammate Janessa (Plummer) told me I was going to hit a walk-off — and everything fell into place for us to win.”
Facing a new pitcher, Bowers said she was anticipating an offspeed pitch. “Feeling relaxed,” she “saw the changeup out of her hand and put it on the ground” into the outfield grass, something she’s been working on. Bowers called it “one of the best moments of my career.”
Starting in August, Bowers will look to add to her already impressive college resume when she reports to Presbyterian, a Division I program that competes in the Big South Conference. She’ll join fellow Richmond County native Jenna Greene, who is a pitcher for the Blue Hose.
Bowers’ path to the Division I circuit was marred by the pandemic, and she called the recruiting process “flat” the last two years. But Blue Hose coach David Williams, who has been in contact with Bowers, offered her during a phone call in April.
“It’s a good fit for me,” Bowers explained. “It’s a small school with a great community feel to it. It’ll be a lot like going back home (to Richmond County).
“Coach Williams is trying to build a program and he was really adamant about me being there,” she continued. “That made me feel like I already belonged, and I’m excited to help leave a mark on the program.”
Ever since she was a sophomore playing for the Lady Raiders and former coach Wendy Wallace, Bowers said it’s been a dream of hers to play at the Division I level.
Now that it’s on the horizon, she’s excited to “face the best competition possible” and that it’s “great to fulfill this dream after what’s been a really long road.”
While at FSW, Bowers set single-season records as a freshman in 2019 in doubles (18), home runs (17) and RBIs (79). She was also named the Buccaneers’ first CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2020.
“I accomplished what I wanted to at FSW,” Bowers said. “During my first year, I put up big numbers, but the last two years were more humbling as I grew as a person and a player.
“I became more concerned about the team as a whole and my mentality is 180 degrees different from when I was in high school,” she closed. “I’m more comfortable with myself as a player, and I hope to continue to get better and help Presbyterian.”
Bowers, who has two years of eligibility remaining, will major in biology and hopes to attend medical school.
