On Wednesday, Feb. 1, the Lancer baseball team took the field without a left fielder to honor freshman, Rudy Ledesma, who passed away in a car accident on Sept. 24.
Dozens of CBU students and over 50 members of Ledesma’s family crowded the stands to pay tribute to the student. Ledesma would have been wearing jersey number 40 and playing left field for the Lancers.
Micah McDaniel, assistant director of athletics and sports information, opened the ceremony with a prayer and shared a few kind words for the fallen Lancer.
McDaniel described Ledesma as a person who had already made a big impact on his friends, the other students in his living area and his teammates. He had a zest for life, a light-hearted spirit, and passion for the game of baseball.
Ledesma’s mother, father and sister all walked onto the field to be recognized. Tammy, the mother, continued forward to the pitcher’s mound with a baseball in hand.
The baseball program officially began its season with Tammy throwing the ceremonial pitch to the catcher, Rudy Ledesma’s roommate, freshman Gunnar Vanden Bossche.
The crowd cheered and applauded as all the members of the Lancer baseball team embraced the Ledesma family with hugs.
As the ceremony came to a close, Ledesma’s father placed his finger tips on his lips and blew a kiss into the sky for his beloved son, while sister Sierra was sporting Ledesma’s baseball jersey number 40.
“The school has been a huge help to our family. I just want to say how proud I am of Rudy, and I miss him,” Tammy said.
All season long, the Lancer baseball team will be wearing number 40 on their uniforms in remembrance of Ledesma.
