Lower Valley Little League honoring fallen player
Candice Bolin-Kern of Springdale remembers her son Brandin's ever-present smile and boundless energy for fishing, camping and, especially, T-ball.
Brandin died last fall, about a month shy of his seventh birthday, after collapsing during a Cub Scout outing when a virus aggravated an undetected condition and caused a heart attack.
The boy loved baseball so much that his family decided to bury him in his T-ball uniform. Lower Valley Little League is remembering Brandin in several ways. All of the organization's players are wearing a patch on their jersey's right shoulder in his honor, and a memorial plaque adorns GenOn Field, a T-ball and coach-pitch diamond that opened this year in Springdale.
The patch bears the initials “BBK” in black and gold. Those were the colors of Brandin's team last year, the Lower Valley McDonald's Pirates.
The plaque, attached to the outside of the fence behind home plate, resembles an oversized, black-and-gold baseball and is centered by a photograph of a grinning Brandin in his batting stance.
“I just feel so grateful the community came together,” Brandin's mother said. “My son will be able to live on. All his friends can go (to the field) and see him.”
About 200 people attended the formal opening of GenOn Field, located on a small hill off Railroad Street, and the dedication of the new facility last month.
Brandin's 5-year-old brother, Matthew, threw out the first pitch. The siblings played on the same team last year. In attendance were players and coaches from all of Lower Valley's age divisions, parents, Cub Scout Pack 554, community members and a representative from GenOn Energy Inc., which runs the Cheswick Generating Station in Springdale.
“He loved baseball,” said LVLL president Jason Fry, who coached Brandin's team last year. “He always had a smile on his face. He was a very happy child. The community really came together for the dedication of the field.”
GenOn donated $17,817 for construction of the field, and Springdale Borough contributed $900 for benches.
“We operate a significant facility in Springdale,” GenOn director of external affairs Mark Baird said. “Youth sports are one of the programs we value in the area. Jason (Fry) explained the situation about the young boy who died, and we felt good about helping make a lasting memory for him.”
Brandin was a first-grader at Acmetonia Primary School. He's been described as an intelligent and curious boy who loved the outdoors. He watched the History Channel, built a clubhouse from branches and sticks shortly before he died and liked to teach his younger brother how to do things.
The dedication ceremony was emotional for Brandin's parents, Joe and Candice.
“It was hard, but I loved it,” Candice said. “It was really nice. I didn't want to go at first. I was scared. But after it was over, it was very nice.”
Paul Kogut is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at pkogut@tribweb.com or 724-224-2696.
