BMC Athletics
Bettt Fowler, Sports Information Director
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – It was an extremely emotional season for the Blue Mountain College Baseball Team. On Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, Blue Mountain Baseball lost teammate Christopher “Boomer” Maurin in a tragic accident a few miles from campus. Maurin was a junior left-handed pitcher from Pascagoula, Miss.
Needless to say, the team spent several weeks in shock. Without delay, the team decided to play in honor of Boomer for 2021.
The test brought the Toppers closer as a team and friends, leading to the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) to announce them as the Mayor Todd Strange Male Champions of Character Team Award winner. The award was named in honor of former Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange in 2019 to recognize his contributions to the SSAC.
According to the NAIA, each school can nominate one male and one female team based on the five core values of integrity, respect responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. The SSAC will now submit the Toppers to the NAIA for consideration for the NAIA’s Conference Commissioner Association Champions of Character Team Award.
On February 10, 2021, the Blue Mountain Baseball Team held a memorial service on campus honoring the life of Boomer Maurin. Numerous members of the student body, faculty and staff attended the event where Boomer’s family was present. Members shared stories and their love for their teammate. They made it their duty to not only serve each other, but to serve the Maurin Family. The team later secured a uniform billboard with Boomer’s name and number (39) they hung on the left field wall of Topper Field.
“Our guys faced one of the most difficult situations they will ever encounter during this season,” said former BMC head coach Curt Fowler. “It was a tragedy that taught us all just how much we need each other. It has also taught us how to love and serve more. I think it’s very fitting for our guys to have earned this award from our conference and I’m proud of them. Boomer and his family will always hold a piece of our hearts.”
Members of the team call and text the Maurin family to this day, to let them know they are there for them in any way possible. The Maurin family returned the favor to the team by showing up at the April 13 game in Blue Mountain vs. Bethel (Tenn.) and provided a shrimp boil for the entire team. Players from BMC still make the trek to the Mississippi Coast to visit and spend time with the Maurin family.
“What a wonderful way for our conference to recognize these guys,” said interim coach Taylor Clark. “They endured an extremely difficult time and persevered. For them to be honored with an award named after a man who spent his life serving others is very fitting. It’s very humbling for all of us.”