Auburn outfielder Cade Belyeu lost his mother Staci on Friday following a battle with cancer. One of his first calls following her passing was to head baseball coach Butch Thompson, who was informed that the sophomore would be playing that night against Holy Cross.

Later that morning, Thompson was unsure if Belyeu would actually play, so he called Belyeu’s father and asked him what he wanted. Roger Belyeu told Thompson that his wife would have wanted her son to play.

Belyeu had a night in front of a record-crowd of 5,718 at the newly-renovated Plainsman Park, hitting a single in his first at-bat and later blasting a solo home run to right-centerfield to put the Tigers up 3-1 in the sixth inning.

“I think it was the most inspiring thing we’ve ever seen. The crowd, our crowd is just amazing. They absolutely sensed what was going on with him and the ovation for him,” Thompson said via 1819 News. “The home run, that’s just how amazing things happen through this game. We want to honor her and I know Cade played for his mom today. That was the number one thing that happened tonight. Some things are bigger than ball. This was one of those moments.”

Belyeu’s home run ball was caught by a young fan and returned to the team, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. Thompson presented Belyeu with it after the Tigers’ 4-1 win.

“That was literally the best thing I’ve ever seen in baseball,” said junior second baseman Eric Snow.