Watch Auburn baseball's Cade Belyeu hit a home run to honor late mom in emotional game
Emotions transcended sport when Auburn Tigers outfielder Cade Belyeu hit a home run against Holy Cross in the team's college baseball season-opener.
Tragically, Belyeu lost his mom Staci to cancer just hours earlier. For most, baseball would have been the furthest thing from their mind. But watching her son play had been a big part of Staci's life, and one of her last wishes was for Cade to play in the Tiger's opening game. So the grieving sophomore was determined to suit up; a courageous decision that astounded Auburn coach Butch Thompson.
“About 10:30 I was wrestling, sitting here trying to figure out. He wants to play. Is he really going to play? So I called his dad and said, 'I'm the coach, and you're the father. Roger, what do you want? I yield to you.' And he said 'Staci wanted him to play.' And so I said, 'alright.' I think it was the most inspiring thing we've ever seen.”
Click on the video above to see a courageous college baseball player honor his mom's dying wish.
That evening, after two at-bats, Belyeu stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning to face a pitch from Holy Cross right-hander Nick Harnisch. As if written in the stars, he crushed it!
Like a scene from a movie, the ball flew way out to deep right field and over the wall for a solo home run that sent the crowd, coaches, and players wild!
Click on the video below to relive the heroic home run that brought the house down.
Belyeu, who received his home run ball after the game, dedicated the homer to his mom. And his extreme courage in the face of such a personal tragedy will forever be a part of Tigers' history.
“Cade played for his mom today,” said Coach Thompson. “That was the number one thing that happened tonight. Some things were bigger than ball. This is one of those moments.”
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