Some moments in sports transcend the game, tugging at the human heart after something unexpected happens.
No. 22 Auburn’s sophomore outfielder Cade Belyeu experienced just that in Friday’s season-opener against Holy Cross. He hit a home run hours after his mother, Staci, passed away from her battle with cancer.
In his third at-bat, Belyeu hammered Holy Cross right-hander Nick Harnisch’s low-and-inside offspeed pitch. Tiger fans gasped after the sophomore’s swing, knowing it might leave the ballpark due to the loud crack of the bat. The crowd erupted after the ball landed over the right-center wall.
Belyeu pointed out to the spot where he hit the home run while jogging around the bases, eventually turning the point into a pumped fist. The home run was the first of the game and season for Belyeu, giving Auburn a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning.
Cade Belyeu’s mother, Staci, lost her battle with cancer this morning.
Hours later, he homered in Auburn’s first game of the season.
Wow.
(🎥 @AuburnBaseball)
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 15, 2025
“One of the most inspiring things I’ve ever seen in 32 years of coaching,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said after the game. “That is the storyline of this ball game, regardless of outcome or result. Staci wanted her son to play. I didn’t know how it would go, but he played an amazing game. It was pretty incredible.”
Thompson told the Montgomery Advertiser that Belyeu called him at 7:16 Friday morning to deliver the news about his mother. Belyeu told the coach that his mom would’ve wanted him to play, and so he did.
After the game, Thompson gave Belyeu the home run ball.
“This was one of those bigger-than-the-game moments,” Thompson said to the Montgomery Advertiser. “From the ovation from the crowd, they knew what was going on and it was just special.”
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Hitting home runs isn’t anything new to Belyeu — he was tied for the third-most big flies on the team last season with eight.
But to hit one in that moment, on the day that? None of the previous ones could compare.
He finished the game 2-4 with two runs and an RBI.
