Baby’s getting close, but River Bluff softball coach wants to stay in the dugout (+ video)

The River Bluff Gators had a game plan for the softball playoffs that had nothing to do with bunts and base running.

Coach Sarah Zaengle is in her last two weeks of pregnancy as the Gators are trying to make it to the Class 4A state championship, so they have prepared for the possibility of doing it without their head coach in the dugout.

Zaengle is expecting daughter Harper to be born any day now. Though her doctor would prefer her to be at home resting, Zaengle is trying to coach for as long as she can.

For Wednesday night’s District 8 championship Zaengle remained seated in a desk chair in the dugout.

“If she decides to make her appearance during a game, the good thing is, my husband is at every game, and we’re only five minutes from the hospital,” Zaengle said.

Her husband, Andy Zaengle, is the announcer for the softball team.

“Her whole family is here (at games), so we’ll just get up and go,” Andy said.

When she found out that her due date was May 17, “The first thing I did was call one of my coaches and said, ‘I’m pregnant, and I looking at the schedule and that means if we make it to Lower State, we’ll be having a baby right in the middle of Lower State.”

She has received a lot of support from the Gators’ staff and players.

“They’ve all banded together and really helped with this experience,” Zaengle said. “My staff has been phenomenal. They have really stepped up, and I fully trust in them. They know how nerve-wracking this has been for me, to have to limit myself, not being able to get out there and hit balls and things like that.”

Glen Conwell, Sarah’s father, said, “Everybody just kind of stepped up and did different things than they normally did last year.”

Conwell kept the book for the Gators in Zaengle’s first season at River Bluff. This year, Conwell has taken the position of first-base coach.

“He’s taught me everything I know, and I know that he works great with these girls, and they love having him out here,” she said. “He’s definitely good to have out here in this experience, when I’m constantly trying to do things, and he’ll tell me ‘no, you can’t do that.’ He’s a great support, and it’s great bonding time for us.”

With his first grandchild on the way, Conwell’s priorities are clear – keep his daughter calm and safe, and keep her team winning.

“I just try to help her,” he said. “It’s been very tough on her. It’s frustrating to watch her get frustrated. When you coach and play long enough, you don’t want to just sit and watch.”

This past Saturday, Zaengle had to meet her team at the bus to announce she would not be able to make the trip to Summerville, per doctor’s orders.

“She called me right after they left and I could tell how disappointed she was. But I was telling her, I would make sure her wishes were granted, and that calmed her down,” Conwell said.

By the end of the game, he was making phone calls after every inning to give her the play-by-play. After the Gators defeated the Green Wave 6-4 to advance to the District 8 final, the team video-conferenced with the coach, and told her they’d dedicated the game to Harper.

“The girls have been great, and it’s awesome to know that Harper is going to have a lot of little moms and babysitters out here,” Zaengle said.

Next season, Zaengle said, she will be a better coach for this experience.

“I’ve definitely learned how to be more vocal. I’m usually more hands on, but as the months went by, I couldn’t get down there and show them how to dive, how to bat,” Zaengle said.

River Bluff athletics director David Bennett has full confidence in Zaengle, a 2006 graduate of Brookland-Cayce High.

“She’s something. Sarah’s got a lot of grit to her,” Bennett said. “She’s young and she’s going to be a great coach. To go through her second season as a varsity coach and have her team make it to the playoffs while she’s pregnant with her first child, that’s a lot. She’ll probably be able to handle anything that comes her way after this.”

But, if Harper is born before this season ends, Zaengle said, she wants to return to the dugout.

“I can come out here and sit in my chair, for the rest of the season. I just have to be here,” she said.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 9:13 PM with the headline "Baby’s getting close, but River Bluff softball coach wants to stay in the dugout (+ video)."