Coming up on Sports Spotlight with Steve Newsome.

Knocking down opponents and adversity.

A sensational Pensacola boxer.

They can't keep down.

And calling her a phenom does not do justice to an off the charts, nationally recognized piece of softball pitcher.

Plus, we go deep with former major leaguer Tim Spoony Borger on the triumphs and heartbreak of his remarkable career and an Alumni Avenue jog with a Navarre product reaching the pinnacle of women's soccer.

Welcome to sports spotlight.

I'm Steve Nissen.

Pensacola's Tim Spoony Barker will join us to reflect on a meteoric rise to Major League Baseball.

And the only thing that slowed him down Navarre is Emily Madrigal graces Alumni Avenue with her spectacular soccer journey and the stunning accomplishments of a pea sized softball superstar.

Living up to an impossible standard.

But we start with Devin Cushing.

Pensacola has a remarkable boxing legacy, including, of course, one of the greatest ever in Roy Jones Jr. Cushing is blazing his own impressive trail in the sport, overcoming significant adversity to make the area proud and be on the verge of a big time shot.

Boxing was always a big deal, and Woodrow Cushing's family and many of his relatives fought at the amateur level.

When his son Devin started competing in athletics as a youngster, exposing him to the sweet.

Science was a natural.

My dad took me to a boxing gym one day and I fell in love with it.

It was different from all other sports.

It just it caught my attention.

Starting as an eight year old, Devin showed promise and at 13 he started working with Roy Jones senior or Big Roy, the legendary trainer and father of one of the greatest boxers of all time, Roy Jones Jr.

When you show up to a competition and you see a Roy Jones senior fighter, you see something special.

You know, it's definitely different.

As a father.

That's what I wanted for my son.

Very tough, very rugged training every day, day in and day out.

It was very hard, grueling.

But that's what makes the end goal worth it.

Devin achieved a major breakthrough as a 15 year old, outperforming higher ranked and more experienced boxers to win an elite regional competition and qualify for the National Junior Olympics.

For our experience and where we was at to do well at what we did, I knew right then, you know, I had something special.

That's when I started taking it real, real serious.

Every weekend we were going somewhere.

Louisiana, Mississippi, all over the United States.

He built up an impressive amateur record, twice reaching the finals at the Ringside World Championship tournament in two 2015, Devin earned an invite to the U.S. Olympic Trials as an 18 year old and seemed to be a legit contender until a lapse of judgment derailed his hopes.

I cut my hand a few weeks before we went there on some glass.

Kind of ruined my opportunity, you know, to be honest with you, you know, just not living right?

Not focused.

You know what I mean?

Not focused.

Like I should be.

I think that humbled him, you know, because he's out trying to be ordinary, hanging with his friends, you know, doing things he shouldn't be doing.

Devin turned pro as a 19 year old in 2016, and over the next two years established himself as an up and comer, winning all nine of his bouts.

Most of them were in Pensacola, including three times on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr fights.

We even co-main an event on one with him, which was great to come out of the ring and watch Roy come in behind us, you know, big deal man, big deal.

It was like a dream come true.

Fight them all in town.

It was very exciting.

All the momentum came to a halt in late 2018, from issues with promoters to a separation with Roy Senior and the onset of the pandemic.

Devin went almost four years without a fight.

Those four years, I probably move gyms about 2 or 3 times.

I didn't have a stable facility.

I was still training, but I wasn't fight trainers to get Devin back in the game.

Woodrow decided to build his own gym.

I've been stacking my pennies, man.

Money I should have put up for retirement right now.

You know, I'm all in.

Woodrow also took over his son's development with the help of some other local trainers, and Devin resumed competitive fighting in 2022.

It was like picking up a bicycle and riding it again.

Man is something I've done my whole life.

You know what I mean?

It took a little bit of time to get back in the groove.

Once I started pedaling, it was on from there.

He stepped up the competition level but kept on winning, staying perfect in eight fights over the last three years, all against guys with winning records.

The biggest moment coming in July of 2024 out in California in a marquee opportunity facing 13.

And Juan Manuel Correia, a guy who had beaten him in amateurs.

Devin won a unanimous decision.

A lot different fight week for us.

They had stuff for us to do every day photoshoots, interviews, press conferences and then fighting in front of 18,000 people.

It was nerve wracking a little bit.

It was, something I've never done before.

It's a good experience to perform on that stage at a high level.

And when we walked out of that night, I knew I had something special going to.

Now undefeated in 17 fights as a pro, Devin is ranked 121st in the world and 33rd in America for the lightweight division.

He brings skill and flair that is attracting attention.

Devin's got a certain type of swag doing.

He's fast, he's got power.

He's elusive.

He can box and will walk you down.

I think he's really developing into a good all around fighter.

Devin knows his rise in the sport would never have been possible without the devotion of his dad.

We got a hell of a chemistry man.

We've been in the gym since I was eight years old together, and he's done a lot for me.

He sacrificed a lot for me to be here, be in the position I'm in.

Yeah, man.

I'm grateful for him.

It's awesome to be relevant and just be with him every day.

At 28 years old, Devin seems primed for a major opportunity and is seeking a matchup against a highly rated contender that could launch his career into the big time and produce a path to a world championship.

But in the highly complex and political boxing world, those opportunities are not easy to come by.

I mean, we're 17 and know they can't keep denying it.

Something's going to give.

You know, I just want a fair shake.

We'll be ready at some point.

You're going to get a shot and it's just what you do with that shot.

I'm looking forward to, my opportunity coming at some point.

And, you know, showing everybody around the world that dedication belongs in 2024.

Ties Jaden Huebner capped a sensational high school softball career as state player of the year, a seemingly impossible act to follow, Hannah DeMarcus has proven otherwise.

She produced a mind blowing sophomore season, the latest Marvel and Hannah's phenomenal rise in the sport.

It's going good.

After starting out in gymnastics and cheerleading, a nine year old Hannah DeMarcus decided to give softball a try.

I didn't really like it at first.

I wanted to quit because I was bad at hitting.

I was like crying to my dad because I didn't want to try out for a second season.

He was like, listen to this.

If I make a team with your friends, would you do it?

And I said, yeah.

And so me and all my neighborhood friends just played another season that kept her in the game.

But the following season, things really changed.

We only had one pitcher, and my coach was like, it would really be nice if we had an extra pitcher.

So my mom told the coach that I could try pitching and I just tried.

It turns out she was a natural.

It was really cool because I could obviously I could throw strikes when I was ten years old, and we actually started to win games with that, and it was really cool to see our team get our first win.

Our coach actually started crying because we never won before.

Hannah started really progressing with lessons from various pitching coaches and excelled in travel ball, steadily bumping up to more elite level teams.

Ultimately catching the eye of Kipp Taylor, coach of the nationally renowned Georgia Impact.

He called my dad and was like, hey, we want Hannah on our team.

And I said, no.

I turned it down because I had just joined So Cal and, I really like the girls in the group, and it took me a while before I realized I wanted to join his team, because I realized how talented they were as a member of the impact, playing a national schedule against the country's best prospects.

Hannah still stood out.

It really opened my eyes and just let me know that I'm good enough to play at a high level.

She arrived as a freshman at Pace High with impressive credentials, but the Patriots happened to have a senior pitcher named Jayden Huebner, the nation's top rated recruit, while he Huebner, led pace to a state title.

Hannah spent the season on junior varsity.

She was kind of like a role model for me, kind of when I was younger, just because she was like the talk of the town.

Basically.

Come the 2025 season with Huebner on to LSU.

The sophomore stepped into some lofty shoes.

Everyone in the school was kind of like, oh, where are you going to be the next gen?

And I kind of, in the back of my mind knew, but I wasn't prepared for anything.

I just wanted to come in and be myself and just make a name for myself.

Losing Jayden, it was very like, okay, you know, I just call it the best of the best.

So you know, the next person, it's going to be a little bit of a tough adjustment.

It really wasn't.

She threw honestly really close to Jayden.

And I just knew from the beginning that we're going to have a great season because she threw so hard.

If there were any doubts, Hannah shattered them in the first two months of the season, she pitched 66 innings without giving up a single earned run.

A lot of batters this season and every game that we played would take the first pitch and be like, oh geez, I don't know how I'm going to hit that.

Her ball takes off right before it gets to the batter, which is kind of like a God given talent.

She throws a great rice ball and a great curveball, and a lot of times are unhittable.

I think it was just a culture shock for everybody that, hey, we got somebody that's probably just as good as Jaylin or has potential to be, which is awesome.

An amazing season ended with a one nothing loss in the state championship game, and stats that are hard to believe.

Hannah threw nine no hitters, had a microscopic 0.32 ERA and struck out over two thirds of the batters she faced, 418 in all.

Second most in the nation and breaking he was to record.

I didn't realize I was going to come in and be that dominant, so special to just, you know, come in and, kind of continue the legacy that Jayden had.

The sophomore earned Gatorade State Player of the year honors, matching her feet as a senior and did her one better.

Being named prep Softball's National Player of the year.

I was laying in bed and then I got a text and from Coach Alexander and I was just like, honestly shocked.

I couldn't believe it.

Also, an excellent student with a 4.19 GPA and often willing to volunteer her time to help others.

Hannah is extraordinary in so many ways.

She's just an all around great kid.

The fact that she is just so humble.

She comes in the dugout and she is the first one to hype people up and in, first one to weight off the field even between each inning and high-five each one of her teammates.

She will support you no matter what.

You could strikeout four times in a row and she'd still be like, hey, next up, bat like, you're going to get this.

I've never seen her with her head down, pouting.

Nothing like she's just one of those players that you're so lucky to have, and you wouldn't trade for the world as you would expect.

College programs are salivating, and they can't even start officially recruiting the rising junior until September.

I've talked to some scouts, and a lot of them think she can be a program changer.

Hannah will play in the ultra prestigious All-American game this summer, and two more seasons of high school ball are still to come.

The possibilities are hard to fathom on an already stunning softball journey.

When I was younger, I thought I was going to be a cheerleader, and then when I took the mound, you know, I've always had people behind me, pushing me, encouraging me, supporting me.

So I feel like that's helped me to be driven and just continue to do what I do.

And I just stuck with it and it's taken me far.

As a standout for Nevada High School soccer, Emily Merrill was named state player of the year in 2016.

She has more than delivered on that promise and is cruising down Alumni Avenue with a growing list of remarkable accomplishments.

Nevarez Emily Merrill, now going by her married name of Sam's, is right there at the pinnacle of American soccer.

Named an alternate on the U.S. Women's Olympic team last summer.

She traveled with them to Paris and came home with a gold medal.

Although Emily didn't get to play in France, her status as a rising national star was solidified in October when she did get on the field for team USA, earning her first taste of international competition at the highest level.

Congratulations on your debut.

Oh yeah.

Things got even better after that.

Emily helped lead the Orlando Pride to the National Women's Soccer League championship in November, and was named the league's Defensive Player of the year.

A first round pick in 2023, Emily has been nothing short of sensational for Orlando, prompting team president Haley Carter to say, quote, Emily embodies everything we value exceptional talent, unwavering commitment and strong leadership.

End quote.

Coming out of Navarre in 2016, she shined in college at Florida State, helping the Seminoles win two national championships and earning All-American status.

Even more remarkable since torn knee ligaments forced her to miss two full seasons.

Someone to be proud of on so many levels.

With more golden opportunities for team USA likely to come, Navarre Emily Samms is someone to keep watching our alumni every.

Call is Tim Spoony Barker made a meteoric rise to Major League Baseball, finding impressive success as a pitcher for the Braves and Marlins in the early 2000.

The only thing that slowed him down were devastating injuries that would cut his short cut short his promising career.

Spoonie Varga is now teaching the game to young hopefuls, and we're thrilled to have Spoony here with us going deep.

Tim, thanks for joining us.

Oh, yes.

Thanks for having me.

All right.

So let's, go back to the early days.

So how did you first get into baseball?

How young were you and how did you get started?

Man, I believe I was five years old.

My first memory is just playing catch with my dad.

Started playing.

I think both of my brothers played at the ballpark.

Both older than me.

And then I think after my first year, I think both of my brothers, quit baseball.

So I was kind of the only one left.

Left playing.

You get to Pine Forest.

You played for Pine Forest in the mid late 90s.

What was the experience like when you played at Pine Forest?

Oh, pine forest was awesome.

I remember just a few years coming up there.

They had a really good team.

So, for years, as a young player, you really strive to make that team.

We ended up making a few deep runs.

Never actually won the championship.

We lost in the final Four of my junior year.

Probably the biggest, loss still with me to this day.

So.

So how good?

You know, as a pitcher, I guess that was starting to really develop.

Then, you know, how good would you as a pitcher?

How were you developing as a pitcher in the high school years?

I wasn't really a great pitcher.

I would say I threw really hard.

I was quarterback also, so my arm was just really strong.

It's funny, I always consider myself more of a hitter, an outfielder.

But I just threw really hard.

I always felt we had better pitchers, there at Pine Forest, but my arm was definitely my my weapon.

So that's something that, you know, Scout, they look at that and they see the potential there.

So when did you realize that maybe you had potential to to really, you know, do something special?

Probably after my junior year of high school, we had a pretty deep playoff run.

And, I got to pitch a few of those playoff games.

Did really well.

And, a couple people after that time had told me, you have a chance maybe to take this farther.

And that kind of ignited me.

So you ended up getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 29th round in 1998.

You know, what was your reaction when you realize you got drafted?

Media wasn't as crazy.

This is now.

So I didn't know my youth coach had actually called me to tell me I got drafted by the Braves.

That was his favorite team.

It was my favorite team.

So it took a minute to kind of even understand what he was saying.

And then, the Braves actually called me, and it was unbelievable.

So then you end up actually, playing a year of junior college at Okaloosa Walton at the time now north was Florida State.

And then, was like a, then they had actually signed you.

So so how did that evolve and how did you decide that you wanted to sign?

I went one year at Okaloosa Walton, probably the hardest year of my life, just transitioning from high school and then kind of being on your own, playing baseball.

It was very tough.

I actually finished that season not really knowing what was next.

I, I had just came to PSC.

I had, signed up for all summer school classes and, literally my first class, my scout called me from the Braves.

Said they wanted to sign me.

Didn't even ask how much.

I just knew I was going to go, left.

I left class right then, and, the rest was history.

The next year or 2000 is when you, you know, you really kind of established yourself.

And you played in high ball.

Myrtle beach, 0.91 E.R.A.

Which is stellar.

What was allowing you to be so successful in the minors?

I didn't really put a lot of pressure on myself.

I love being where I was.

A lot of the people there were were every day really felt a lot of pressure.

And in any minute they were going to kind of be sent home.

I just never really felt that much pressure.

I loved being there, and, it just worked out for me.

And then you carry that over the next year or 2001, you start and then you get promoted to Triple-A, and then you get called up to the major league, to the Braves in September as a 21 year old.

Tell me what that felt like.

Oh, man.

That was, that was wild.

You know, of course it was the team that I watched my whole life.

So not only was it, making my baseball dream, but I was meeting all these people that I watched on TV forever.

So it was really amazing, but it was also, very nerve wracking at the whole the whole time because you don't want to do anything wrong.

So going day by day, trying to do everything, the best you can, but not messing up is, very stressful.

Yeah, well, you did really well.

I mean, you pitch just four games that year, but then the next year you were there for the beginning of the season, 2002, and you were a regular in their bullpen.

51 games and a solid E.R.A.

You playing like you meant you played with a bunch of future Hall of Famers on that.

So did you feel like you belong?

What what what kind of ride was that like?

Oh, it was amazing.

I got to watch the guys.

My first year there was actually John Smoltz, his first year in the bullpen.

He was one of my heroes growing up.

So to be able to watch him, it was great.

Were you amazing yourself, though, with what you were doing?

Or were you not even thinking about it?

You were just go with it.

I never really thought about perform it.

I just, I don't know, it was just always something I had always done and figured I should be there at, I just felt it felt normal for me.

All right.

So after the 2002 season, you end up getting traded, to the Miami Marlins.

And it was part of a trade for Mike Hampton, who was one of the best starting pitchers in the majors.

So that spoke to your value?

But how did it affect you when you got traded?

Oh, man.

I thought I'd be a brave forever.

And then you get traded to, to, at the time, the worst team in baseball.

It definitely hurt a little bit.

But at the same time, the Marlins, they were stacked with young players.

Most of the roster was 25 and younger and coming from the Braves, which was very older, it was a nice chance to go be with some younger people and, do some things.

I was the 2003.

They used you a lot.

I mean, you pitched in 33 games in the first two months.

I was more than half the team teams games.

Was was a whirlwind.

What was it like?

Was tough.

You want to throw because you're doing well and you're helping the team.

But I remember having players come to me and say, you know, you need to stand up and kind of tell them you can't pitch every day.

Something you don't know when you're young.

If a coach asks you to pitch, you just kind of tell them yes and then deal with the soreness the next day.

But, that was a little tough situation.

Yeah.

Because you got injured.

I mean, midway through the year, June, you got injured originally.

So they said tendinitis ends up being torn ligament.

You had to have Tommy John surgery.

How devastating was that?

It was rough.

It was rough.

But, you know, back then, the first Tommy John, not not to make it sound good, but so many guys were having it, and, it was almost kind of a matter of, when it was going to happen.

And, and so a couple guys with the Marlins were really good friends, had just been diagnosed at the same time.

So I was trying to stay positive and figure we could rehab together and come back together and all this.

And, I just never really came back, like those guys.

I know, but you mentioned.

Did you feel like you were overused?

Now, then, you that you look back at it, that it contributed to that happening?

Yeah, I was definitely overused.

I had always had really great managers in my career.

And, the Marlins, when they started going south, they ended up hiring a very old school manager, Jack McKeon.

Which was a great guy, but they weren't really into keeping guys healthy.

And, so I think had I stayed with the Braves or maybe some other coaching, that would have helped, but kind of just happened.

Now, the Marlins did go on to win the World Series in 2003 and that year, and now you've got a ring for that.

I mean, even though you weren't there at the end, did you feel like you were really part of that?

Definitely, definitely felt like I was part of the team.

But we definitely had this feeling of, you know, you get to that level when you win.

That is great.

But I want to be one of the ones on the field actually helping the team win and not just kind of sitting and watching.

So it was it was very bittersweet when you got the ring on right now.

Yes, yes.

It's, it's iffy.

Had I been playing in that thing, I would probably wear it and take it out a lot more, but it's almost a little hard to look at at time.

So it's gotten easier through the years to look at it.

It's pretty cool thing to have.

All right.

So obviously, you know, after Tommy John a lot of guys do come back.

I mean, you know, it's almost become a routine thing.

But for you, you missed all of oh four and then oh five to rehabbing, trying to come back and then again pain.

And what happened?

Yeah.

I was actually making a rehab start.

I thought I was on my way back.

I was at 23 months.

It had taken a long time, but, thought I was on my way back, through one pitch, felt a pop in my arm, and, they told me I had torn the tendon from my elbow, which was okay.

It was only a 2 or 3 month recovery.

And while I was sleeping, they found out that I tore my ligament again.

So when I woke up, I found out that they had done Tommy John the second time.

And it was kind of devastating.

And at that point, it kind of came home.

Yeah.

I mean, what was the what was the realization at that point that, you know, this is this is probably the end.

Yeah.

There was one guy on our team, Chad Fox at the time, who had had two Tommy John's, and he was back playing, but it was so rare.

I kind of knew that the two was going to take me out for a long time.

So that was it hurt.

Yeah.

And you ended up you tried to make a comeback in 2008, several years later.

And you did play a little bit in the minors, but it just you are the same, you know, so how do you how do you kind of look back at that now, at your career, you know, great highs, unbelievable rise.

And then kind of the way it ended, very, very grateful.

There's not many things I would I would change at all to kind of come from a place where I didn't think it would ever be possible to do all the things I got to do.

I am so grateful.

And now you're coaching, the West Florida academy, you know, travel ball.

How gratifying.

How satisfying is that for you?

Oh.

It's awesome.

A lot of these kids, you know, you see yourself in them when they're nice and young.

They have these dreams of playing and, you know, doing all these big things.

So it is fun to have a little part, in that, in that process.

It is tough with sports because when they're young, it's, it's such kind of an innocent competitive thing.

And then as they get older, it gets a lot more, just a lot more competitive.

And there's some nasty sides to sports that we don't the youth don't always see.

It is fun when they're young, teaching them, just the basic stuff and innocence of the game, of course, injuries, arm injuries for it for young people has become an epidemic.

It's become worse and worse and worse off because of overuse going year round.

You know, you, of course, firsthand have experience.

So what kind of, cautionary tale?

What kind of things do you tell your parents, about how to handle that?

And really, the right way to to see their child development as Bridget, I think the biggest thing nowadays is just not to be in a rush for success.

It's so easy as a parent.

You know, especially from the pitching side, let's say, to save me.

And my kid throws some, velocity and, you know, it's kind of a, makes you feel good, that your kid's succeeding.

But you got to realize that a lot of these stresses that we're asking them to do year after year after year, by the time they get to a point where they can mature and compete, and they've kind of done a lot of damage to their body, and physically, they're almost burnt out from what we thought they would do forever.

So it'd be nice to see, just in general, the performance side back off from youth sports and just let them play a little more and enjoy it.

And as they get older, if they're still playing, then the performance can matter a little more.

Yeah, well, I know you're making an impact, but you're, you know, you're inside.

And the advice you give.

So, Spoonie, thanks.

Great to see you.

Thanks for, talking about your great career and the things you're doing now.

Thanks for having me all right, that's a wrap at another edition of Sports Spotlight.

But there are so many more stories to tell.

So next time, thank you.