This weekend, eight teams will battle it out in the College World Series. Texas Christian University is back for the fourth time in four years, inspired this year by a young boy who died from cancer.
Seven-year-old Micah Ahern made the trip to the CWS last year and was with the team every step of the way.
“We lost him last summer. That was really tough, but his spirit and legacy lives on,” TCU Coach Jim Schlossnagle said.
Losing Micah wasn’t easy, he said. “He taught us more than we taught him.”
“We miss him every single day — we love him and his whole family,” Senior Brian Howard said.
Micah’s memory has been with the Horned Frogs along the road to Omaha.
“He taught us so much about joy and how to live life and enjoy everything around you because you never know when it will end,” Junior Evan Skoug said.
With a locker still dedicated to Micah, Coach Schlossnagle said the boy's life lessons will stay with them forever.
“His spirit never leaves us, and he helps us put things in perspective. This is great to be here — this is College World baseball of Disneyland, but this isn't real life. Real life is the struggles that people have to go through,” he said.
Micah’s father, who said he sees his son in the team, said he went to watch them beat Missouri State, with Micah right alongside him.
Cheering on @TCU_Baseball to a win against @MissouriState! Brought Micah along! We believe! #RoadToOmaha #NEGU #mashformicah pic.twitter.com/EGpXnWVOdk
— Maurice Ahern (@AhernMo) June 10, 2017
The team opens the series Sunday against Florida, and they believe Micah will be there cheering them on.
“We miss him. We think about him every day, and he is talked about every day,” Coach Schlossnagle said.
A hashtag #mashformicah was started this season, and fans have said for every home run, they will donate money to a scholarship fund in honor of Micah. So far they have reached almost $50,000.
