UTampa baseball player helps neighbor through Helene storm surge

UTampa baseball player braves storm

Sean Barie reports

TAMPA, Fla. - Rob Kocis grew up with a mitt on one hand and a bat in the other.

"I just fell in love with it. I was playing outfield too, but pitching just caught my eye," Kocis said.

A 20-year-old pitcher on The University of Tampa's baseball team, his mind is always on his next game and next pitch.

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"I just like being in the game every pitch and every second I could be," he said.

Last Thursday, however, his mind couldn't have been further from the mound as Hurricane Helene raged in the gulf.

"Water started coming in around 4 p.m. in the streets, and it just kept building up," Kocis recalled.

As the storm passed the Tampa Bay area, Kocis and his parents sheltered in place at their Redington Beach home, hoping the storm would spare them.

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"It's just nerve-racking more than anything," he said.

Though their garage flooded, the Kocis' home itself was spared the worst. The same, however, cannot be said for their neighbor, George Hopkins, who lives just down the street from their house on Dolphin Drive.

"By the time I walked down to my driveway [the water] was up to my chest, and I was starting to get a little worried," Hopkins recalled.

Like the Kocis', Hopkins also opted to stay put but quickly realized Hurricane Helene had other ideas.

"I had an inkling, but I'm stubborn and thought I could handle it," Hopkins said. "This time it was a whole different ball game."

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Hopkins' wife, Lucy, however, evacuated to Tarpon Springs, where she was able to get a call out to the Kocis family when she realized her husband was now trapped by floodwaters in their home.

"I didn't really know the guy [George]. I just heard that he needed some help," said Kocis.

That's when the UTampa pitcher, who isn't afraid to provide relief on the mound, delivered some relief of a different kind.

"Without hesitation, I just told my parents that I had to go get him," Kocis said.

Though the two houses were barely separated by 200 yards, it took Kocis nearly a half hour to wade through shoulder-high storm surge to get to the Hopkins' house.

"About 100 yards in I thought 'This is too much,'" Kocis remembered thinking.

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The Spartans' pitcher, however, didn't give up and reached George just in time.

"By the time I got to the driveway, I saw his light and that's when he turned around, and we connected," George said.

It was a light of hope for a neighbor in need.

"Just that sense of relief that someone was there for him, I think made him feel a lot better," said Kocis.

Now, two neighbors that were once strangers share a bond over a major hurricane and a disaster avoided thanks to the quick actions of college pitcher.

"If it wasn't for Robert, I don't know if I would've gotten down here by myself," Hopkins said.

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