Blue bow tied in her hair, senior outfielder Bella Dayton took the field for her last game before conference play starts.
Cheering her on alongside the rest of her family was a “cute little guy in the stands,” Dayton joked: it was her father, Alan Dayton.
Alan cheered when Texas softball beat UT-Arlington 8-1 in their first game ranked at No. 1 by the USA Softball/ESPN.com poll for the first time since 2006. But about a year prior, Alan might not have been able to make it to the stands, as he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
While he underwent a successful surgery that left him cancer-free and healthy, Bella wears the blue ribbon in her hair for him and all the hardships he has been through.
“I just want to represent him with everything I do because he’s always there to support me,” Bella said.
In a video highlighting Bella as the player of the game, the Longhorns shared how much their teammate meant to them.
“Thank you for taking me under your wing, for sharing your advice (and) for taking your time to make me a better player,” freshman Kayden Henry said. “Because of you, I’m happy to be here.”
Even though senior day hasn’t happened yet, Bella said the videos made her emotional about the time she has spent at Texas and the connections she has made.
“I’m trying to save the tears for senior day,” Bella said. “When the videos were made, it was super early, so just to see what they thought and how they felt about me just definitely made me emotional and I’m just super grateful.”
Bella was an instrumental part of the 2022 team that made it to the World Series finals, selected to the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) All-Tournament Team after hitting .350 with three extra-base hits and three RBIs over seven event contests.
“She’s been one of those transfers that came in and filled a big hole for us,” head coach Mike White said. “She’s a competitor, never gives up, has always been fiery out there and has a lot of passion when she plays.”
And the Longhorns were more than ready to compete against UTA. While the first inning started off slowly, Texas picked up the pace, scoring three runs at the bottom of the second and third innings.
At the top of the fifth, the Longhorns looked as if they were going to be able to finish the game in five innings, enacting the mercy rule. However, the Mavericks weren’t going to let the game end without putting up a fight as they got one run on the board.
With conference play starting on Friday against Houston, the season is passing by quickly, and Bella hopes to make the most of every last minute.
“The days are going fast,” Bella said. “And each moment I’m just trying to take in and be grateful for every step I take with the people I’m with all day every day.”
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect the timeline of Dayton’s games before conference play. The Texan regrets this error.
