Little League Team Surprises One Of Their Own

By LAURA ROBISON

Moapa Valley Progress

MVLL Coach Kyle Cardinal (right) presents Kael Freeman with a special Nationals shirt that was made in support of him and his mother Rosemary.

A Moapa Valley Little League (MVLL) team surprised and honored one of their teammates who has been facing a rough time at a special ceremony on Tuesday, May 15.

Kael Freeman, 12, is a member of The Nationals team, coached by Kyle Cardinal, Matt Stankosky and Mike Leavitt. Freeman’s mom Rosemary has gone through a rough time over the past 2 1/2 years. She has developed a tumor in her neck/spine. It has gotten to the point, in the past 6 months, that she has gone from walking to being in a wheelchair. Most recently, she has been hospitalized since April 30 and has faced some serious medical challenges.

This has, of course, put stress on the entire family, including young Kael. When the coaches heard about this situation they knew they wanted to do something special. So on Tuesday, before the team’s scheduled game started, Cardinal called all the players and parents over to make an announcement.
“All season long, we have tried to teach these boys not only about baseball, but about being a team and a family,” Cardinal said. “And right now there is a team member whose mother is in the hospital, and we want him to know that we care about him and want to show our support.”

Cardinal then asked Freeman to step forward. As he presented Kael with a T-shirt, he explained that the coaches had ordered the special shirts to be made for the team, and for his entire family.

On the front of the shirts, along with the Nationals logo, it reads ‘Playing For Rosemary.’ Printed on the back is Kael’s jersey number, 11. There were enough shirts for the whole team and ALL of them had number 11 on them. The coaches had received permission from league officials to have the team wear these shirts for the remainder of the season.

MVLL team The Nationals wearing shirts that were made special as a show of support for teammate Kael Freeman (standing, 3rd from left) and his mother Rosemary.

The shirts were made by local business, MVP Screen Print and Design. MVP owners Brandon and Mandi Leavitt not only produced the shirts but also donated them to the team as well.

Already feeling overwhelmed and emotional, now the team had a game to play. This team was in last place. It was a playoff game and they were pitted against the number one seed in the league, The Mets, who were undefeated. The teammates wanted to play hard and give it their all, and they did. In an upset match, The Nationals actually beat The Mets, 7-3.
A few of the boys said it was ‘Rosemary Power’.

But this night was not just about a baseball game, it was about a team with heart and soul who wanted to lift up one of their own and let him know they had his back, in this case quite literally.

When asked about the win, Coach Cardinal replied, “The team came to the game with enhanced focus because tonight they were playing for a different purpose.”

At the end of the game, Kael was also presented with a baseball that had been signed by his coaches, his teammates and the parents.
Freeman was asked how he felt about the evening’s events, and all he could muster was, “It made me feel really good”.