Cara Hopper is almost back.
The former Caledonia High School and Itawamba Community College standout has recovered from foot surgery that cost her what would have been her senior season with the Blue Mountain College softball team.
Hopper also has returned to Lowndes County to finish work on her physical therapy degree at the Mississippi University for Women.
The final step Hopper has to take to show she is all the way back is to step on the softball field for the Owls.
Hopper will have to wait a little more than a month to take that step, but she can’t wait to be a part of history when she and her teammates begin fall practice for the sport’s return to the school in 2018.
“I am really excited to come home,” Hopper said. “There was a rumor when I was in high school that they would be bringing back athletics and I was always really interested. I wanted to go to The W from the get-go, but I was not sure (athletics) were going to be back for me to do it. I am really happy to be back home and to represent the town.”
Hopper is one of nine players with ties to the Greater Golden Triangle on The W softball coach Tatjana Matthews’ 27-player roster for the sport’s return to the Columbus campus. She will join Anna Kate O’Bryant and Meredith Woolbright (New Hope High), Kandler Flora and Kendall Wilkinson (East Webster High), Taylor Kidder (Columbus Christian Academy), Makayla Taylor (Caledonia High), Kaley Loague (Hamilton High), and Mateline Newman (South Lamar (Ala.) High) to provide distinct local flavor to the squad.
Matthews will join Roxanne Hernandez (volleyball), Tim Gould (men’s soccer), Matt Wolfenbarger (baseball), and Morgan Turnipseed (cross country) as the first coaches to lead The W’s sports teams for the 2017-18 school year. Men’s soccer, volleyball, and women’s cross country will start this fall, while men’s cross country will begin in the fall of 2018.
Hopper was a standout at Caledonia High from 2010-13. As a senior, she struck out 188 in 105 innings, had an earned run average of 0.67, and a batting average of .384. She went on to have a solid career at ICC in which she helped the Lady Indians win 69 games and two Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College (MACJC) North Division Championships. As a sophomore, Hopper hit .282 with 14 RBIs in 37 games. She also was 4-4 with three saves and a 1.14 ERA (46 strikeouts). She finished her career as the program’s all-time saves leader and earned MACJC All-North Division honorable mention honors. She was a second-team MACJC All-North Division honor as a freshman.
As a junior, Hopper continued her career at Blue Mountain, an NAIA school near Holly Springs. She hit .230 with four doubles, four home runs, and 24 RBIs in 46 games (42 starts) in her first year at the school. She also was 3-3 with a 7.65 ERA in 12 games (five starts). She allowed 38 hits in 35 2/3 innings. She walked 24 and struck out 25.
But Hopper said she rolled her ankle really hard in last fall. She said the injury dislodged an extra bone she had in her foot and that piece of bone started to get in the way of a very important tendon. Doctors told Hopper she could try to play through the pain or have surgery to fix it. Hopper said she tried to play through it, but she realized prior to the start of the spring season the injury was preventing her from giving 100 percent, so she opted for surgery.
Hopper had surgery Feb. 14 and was released three to four weeks ago. She said a full recovery took almost five months and that she was pretty much restricted as far as mobility until May. She said she had two casts on her foot and then a boot before she finally was able to start to walk again.
“It was actually a rough day. I was unstable and wobbly,” Hopper said. “It was a good day in the fact I knew it was almost over, I was getting to where I wanted to go. It felt like a never-ending process for a while.”
Hopper said she felt “very discouraged” having to sit out what would have been her senior season because she didn’t know if she would get a chance to come back to play softball again. As she recovered, Hopper said her father, Tony, talked to Matthews about the softball program at The W. Hopper said she then talked to Matthews after Blue Mountain released her and she saw an ideal opportunity to be close to home, to get a great education, and to play softball again.
“I get to come home and play for the people who have supported me for my whole career,” Hopper said. “I was very unsure I was going to be able to play because of my injury and the surgery, but I am really happy to get the opportunity to.”
Hopper acknowledged she likely will have to “get some of the rust off” her game when fall practice kicks off in a month or so. She said she has been working hard to get back into shape so she is ready to contribute. Hopper anticipates she will be able to pick things back up quickly and is looking forward to the chance to finish her career the way she wants to, especially in a sport she started playing when she was 9 years old.
“I don’t know what to expect, but I am sure it is going to be good,” Hopper said. “I have invested countless hours in the summer and playing tournament ball. I have spent my whole life playing the game. Now that I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just want to make the best of it.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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