Latest news with #Cascade
Indianapolis Star
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
New Pal catcher, valedictorian balances baseball with engineering future: 'Just trying to juggle everything'
New Palestine catcher Jackson Kamp watched the pain his grandmother, Debby Fisher, dealt with on a daily basis after undergoing multiple joint replacement surgeries. As a kid, Kamp wanted to study aerospace engineering and design airplanes, but finding a solution to his grandmother's pain sparked his interest in biomedical engineering. Kamp wants to design joint replacements, prosthetics and surgery robots, things that can really make a difference in people's lives. The senior is a dedicated student, valedictorian of his class with a 4.11 GPA. Before he solves the world's problems as an engineer, the Dragons (24-3) backstop will be tasked with slowing down the Guerin Catholic (18-12) offense during Saturday's Class 3A semistate semifinals. "Behind the plate, it definitely helps a lot," Kamp said of his intelligence. "It allows me to see things and study them. It can get me into trouble at the plate sometimes, though, starting to overthink things a little bit, but behind the plate, there's never enough time for that. It lets me make decisions quickly based on what I see. It makes it easy to see patterns. So, when I see the patterns, I know, oh, I need to do this." Balancing academics and athletics was not an easy task for Kamp. There were nights where the senior stayed up until 1 or 2 a.m., after games studying and finishing up homework. Kamp also had to sacrifice his social life to maintain his grades. "Just trying to juggle everything, it's definitely not easy," Kamp said. "My parents were always on me about using my time wisely, because I'm still a teenager and want to have fun with my friends and stuff, but they were like, 'if you want to accomplish this goal, you might have to give up something else.'" "He's probably one of the hardest workers I know," added senior pitcher Rigg Mahurin. "To be able to have his GPA and to be one of the better baseball players on the field, it just takes that much more work. ... He's usually one of the first ones out here, doesn't put his cleats on yet, just goes straight to setting the field up for practice. He's the last one off the field, last one to take reps. He's just that kid to stay after and just put the work in when he knows he needs it." Kamp and Mahurin have developed into a shutdown battery. Kamp relays the calls from coach Shawn Lyons to the pitching staff and the defense. Kamp caught Mahurin's nine-strikeout no-hitter against Cascade in the regional championship. Mahurin has not allowed an earned run over three postseason starts. For the season, Mahurin is 9-1 with a 1.38 ERA and 85 strikeouts over 60⅔ innings. Kamp's experience and ability to process the game keeps him in sync with his coach and pitchers. Lyons trusts his backstop to make the right signals based on what he's seeing from the dugout, and Kamp has the defensive ability to execute all the plays on the diamond. The Anderson commit has a .977 fielding percentage, with nine assists and just five errors in 216 chances. At the plate, Kamp is batting .311 with 19 runs scored, 26 RBIs, seven doubles, one triple and a team-high six home runs. "He's my quarterback for the defense," Lyons said of Kamp. "He'll make sure the pitcher and him are on the same page. He'll let me know, 'hey the umpire is really tight. Or he's giving a ball on the outside or the inside (of the plate).' We're always communicating. "Jackson has been with us since his freshman year. ... They understand our coaches. They understand where we're coming from, and they trust the process." Just two games from the state championship is a familiar place for the Dragons. In 2022-23, they lost in the semistate semifinals to Castle. Last season, New Pal lost in the semistate semis again, this time in extra innings to Class 4A runner-up Mooresville. There's a sting that comes from getting that close to the championship and coming up short. Failure is painful, but New Pal is hoping to build from the experience gained over the past two seasons. "The atmosphere is crazy," Kamp said of the semistate tournament. "So, if you've never been in it, it's surreal. Having that experience just lets you play instead of being all tight because you're like, 'oh, there's a lot of people in the stands right now.'" Follow IndyStar high school baseball Insider Akeem Glaspie on X at @THEAkeemGlaspie and get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. Class 4A at South Bend Riley (Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium) Class 4A at Mooresville Class 3A at LaPorte Class 3A at Jasper Class 2A at Oak Hill Class 2A at Castle (at University of Evansville) Class A at Lafayette Jeff (Loeb Stadium)
Indianapolis Star
04-06-2025
- General
- Indianapolis Star
No. 1 New Palestine pushed to extra innings by Cascade, then explodes for 8 runs to win regional
CLAYTON – New Palestine's 11-3 win over host Cascade in Tuesday's Class 3A softball regional might look like a blowout at first glance, but the Dragons escaped fire as Cascade rallied after trailing 3-0 in the final inning of regulation to tie it with a chance to win the game. New Palestine junior pitcher Sadey Hughbanks escaped the jam, and the Dragons followed by putting together an improbable eight-run eighth inning spurred by senior Jersi Gross' inside-the-park home run to start the extra frame. Top-ranked New Palestine (26-4) moves on to face No. 2 Cathedral (26-2) in Saturday's semistate at Jasper, after the Irish topped Lebanon 13-0. The two teams last played in last year's regional championship, with the eventual state runner-up Dragons defeating the Irish 12-1. IHSAA softball regionals: Statewide pairings, schedule, scores 'Two great teams up in the rankings all year,' said New Palestine coach Ed Marcum. 'It'll be a great game.' Tuesday's score wasn't representative of how competitive the game was. Cascade senior pitcher Grace Gray escaped multiple jams as New Palestine left 11 runners on base through the first five innings. Early wind gusts of 25 mph blowing directly toward home plate didn't favor the Dragons. It was scoreless in the sixth, but the wind began to die down seemingly at the right time for New Palestine. Gross drew a walk on a 12-pitch at-bat. Katie Hirschy followed with a single to center, and Maddie Engle cleared the bases with a no-doubt home run over the left field fence on the first pitch for a 3-0 New Palestine lead. 'There were a lot (of at-bats) where it looked like we got ahold of the ball and then it was just a little dinker into right,' Engle said. 'There was one of my at-bats, where I hit it to center and everybody was like, 'Oh, you smacked that ball. If only the wind didn't get it.' When I went up to the plate again, the wind died down and we sent it. All of a sudden, our offense came to play. We were on fire. The wind dying down really helped us out.' The scrappy Cadets, who moved up to 3A this year after winning the 2A state title last year, didn't relent, patching together a three-run seventh to force extra innings. Back-to-back runners were ruled safe following game officials overturning the original calls of them being ruled out. Gray drove both in with a two-run single. A sacrifice by senior Ava Allen tied the score 3-3 and Cascade (21-6) had a runner on third with two outs, but Hughbanks coaxed a groundout to end the threat. After that, it was all New Palestine. 'It was kind of crazy,' Marcum said. 'Both pitchers were throwing great. Defensively, the teams were making plays and the pitchers were making the plays when they had to, to get out of jams. Cascade did a great job coming back and tying the game. It really showed a lot of what this team is about coming through with eight in the top of the eighth. I'm just really proud of them. We found out we couldn't score enough with the type of team Cascade was.' The Dragons sent 14 batters to the plate in the decisive eighth inning, scoring eight runs off seven hits and three walks, including Gross' inside-the-parker. She smacked a tailing fly ball to left field to start the inning, which sailed over the fielder's head. Gross blazed around the bases to record her first home run of the year. 'Once I saw her back turned, I wasn't planning to stop,' Gross said. 'That really put me in gear, like, 'Oh, shoot, I've got to go.'' Engle followed with an RBI single. Saydie Miller drove in a pair. Catherine Trebley added another RBI. Then it was back to the top of the order and Gross, who added an RBI double for good measure. Cascade would load the bases in the bottom of the inning, refusing to relent without a fight, but Hughbanks (25-4) was able to close the door for the complete-game win. 'We had to overcome adversity,' Gross added. 'It really showed that this team has fight and we're not going to give up, no matter what.'
Chicago Tribune
25-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
After being holed up during the pandemic, renters are now seeking spaces that allow them to connect with other tenants
Among the many lux amenities offered at the Optima Verdana apartment complex in Wilmette is a pickleball court where Helena Harron spends several days a week playing pickup matches with other residents, many of whom have quickly become close friends. After growing up in Wilmette and moving away, Harron and her family moved into the luxury apartment complex in 2023, initially planning for a short stay while she and her husband looked for the right home to buy. But they quickly felt at home in the building, and while they still hope to purchase a home in the future, they are enjoying the perks that apartment living offers. 'We are still thinking about moving to a home, but the pressure is off,' she said. 'We're very happy where we are, so it's no longer a desperate must move. Instead if the right opportunity comes around, then we would.' Harron is one of the many Chicago residents in the last decade who have flocked to high-amenity apartment complexes, drawn by the convenience and built-in community they offer. The demand for spaces to live, work, exercise and play, often alongside other residents, has become a driving factor for new building developers. Face-to-face spaces are nothing new in large apartment complexes, but growing demand for them has driven developers to be more intentional and targeted in what they offer in the last few years. And the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for buildings to offer more recreation and work spaces that can be shared by residents. The trend toward more comprehensive amenity spaces began well before the pandemic, said Meg Spriggs, managing director of development for Americas at Lendlease, which operates the Cascade in Lakeshore East and The Reed at Southbank. Shared office spaces became more prominent with the popularity of WeWork around 2013, and developers began to look more closely at how they could incorporate those spaces into their own buildings. The portion of so-called live-work-play developments — buildings that offer shared office and entertainment spaces — doubled between 2012 and 2020, according to RentCafe. In 2020, about 13% of apartments nationwide were in mixed-use developments, compared to 6% in 2012. 'When those types of very flexible spaces and community-oriented spaces started coming on the market, everyone started paying attention to how they might be able to address that in their own buildings,' Spriggs said. Before the pandemic, a trend toward making shared living spaces more like those seen in hotels and resorts also started to emerge, said Brad Lutz, managing principal and Chicago and National Multifamily Practice Leader at Baker Barrios Architects. Unit sizes have gotten smaller over the last decade, Lutz said, so the amenities have become an important accessory to tenants' daily lives. 'The unit sizes are getting smaller so we're making up for it by creating more options for them to have as their shared home space, if you will, in the amenities,' Lutz said. Apartment complexes have been expanding their amenity offerings for years, but the pandemic jump-started demand for one feature in particular: on-site work space. Remote workspace became essential. At the same time, residents who were holed up working from home also began seeking opportunities for recreation and connection in their apartment buildings. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of people working from home at least sometimes increased about 60%, and in 2023 close to 35% of American workers worked from home on some days, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Tenants were hesitant about sharing spaces during the height of the pandemic, and developers initially tried to set up onsite workspaces in a way that maintained separation between residents. But people quickly became comfortable with the idea, and developers saw residents using those spaces more as working from home became permanent for many workers. 'I think in the beginning, co-working felt scary just because proximity was still sort of an unknown, but once we got through that and we got our vaccinations, we're right back to the community spaces, and plus,' Spriggs said. Now, with many residents working from home full- or part-time, developers have placed a premium on making sure shared office spaces cater to all the needs residents may have. Ali Burnham, vice president of marketing for Optima, Inc., which owns Optima Verdana as well as locations in Lakeview and Streeterville, said developers try to include a variety of coworking spaces that cater to different work styles and work-from-home needs. The buildings have multiple office spaces, meeting rooms, huddle rooms and areas where people can find a quiet corner to take calls or focus on their work. 'What we often find is in addition, people may work on the skydeck, or they may work in the party room,' Burnham said. 'And so you may find this sort of organic gathering of people or people separate. It sort of depends, and they have that option.' Developers are also beginning to offer more unique spaces, like maker spaces, jam rooms and podcast rooms, based on resident interests and a desire for more variety in amenity spaces. Many of the shared spaces developers are creating on-site have a wellness or fitness focus. Rather than having a fitness room with a few treadmills and weights, complexes will have pickleball courts, yoga studios, saunas, weight rooms and tracks, spread across multiple floors and tailored to different needs. 'I think today, life is very stressful. People's lives are demanding, and so when they're home, they want places for peace, places for exercise, places where they can focus on themselves, relax,' Burnham said. 'And so we try to provide as many of those spaces as possible.' For Harron, the pickleball court at Optima Verdana became a place to exercise, have fun and connect with other residents. Harron has made several friends she calls the 'pickleball crew' from pickup games on the court that have blossomed into close friendships. 'It's been a lot of fun to get to know people here and build a community here,' she said. 'It's a nice group. It's a supportive network, and we're even starting to celebrate people's ups and downs in life.' Harron's husband frequently uses the building's sauna and gym, she said, and her son often brings friends over to use the building's golf simulator. At Lendlease, developers make an effort to incorporate green spaces into the indoor environment to contribute to wellness and bring a piece of nature into the concrete city landscape. At Cascade in Lakeshore East, residents can spend their time in a conservatory, lush with green plants indoors and a walkway lined with rocks that feels like walking through a park. The windows overlook a green park outside the building. 'Winters in Chicago can sometimes be challenging, and it's just a really nice space to sort of feel like you're outside, but you're really inside, protected from the elements, with a lot of green plants and windows and visibility outside,' Spriggs said. The availability of green spaces also works into developers' efforts to enhance sustainability at their buildings, Spriggs said, which has become a growing demand among Generation Z residents. Developers have been paying more attention in recent years to outdoor spaces as well, building amenities that tie a building to the surrounding environment and offer more green spaces for residents. The growth in pet ownership since the pandemic has also driven developers to offer more outdoor spaces for pets to walk and play. 'I think a lot of buildings realized, hey, we need to relax our pet policies and realize that we're going to have a huge percentage of our residents that are going to want to have a pet and want to have spaces to take them,' Lutz said. When Optima Lakeview was in development during the pandemic, Burnham said the company looked for ways to make the outdoor amenities available year-round, even during the cold winter months. The building has an outdoor heated pool that residents can use all year, as well as fire pits on the outdoor terrace to keep residents warm in the colder months. Just as important as the amenities on site, developers said, is the programming that building managers offer for residents to use the spaces and connect with neighbors. Lendlease and Optima's buildings offer trivia nights, painting classes, movie nights and group fitness classes for residents to engage with the amenity spaces in ways that work for them. Building staff take input from residents on what type of events they'd like to see. 'Just because you build it doesn't mean it will get used and programmed on its own,' Spriggs said. 'And so I think that content creation and being really in tune with the community is important.' The programming also helps foster community among residents, bringing people together around shared interests, Burnham said. 'These events and clubs really give people that opportunity to very comfortably interact with their neighbors and figure out who they connect with, who has the same interest that they do,' Burnham said. 'And they start seeing each other at this class, they see each other at another event, and eventually a friendship can blossom.' Harron said she was surprised at how quickly she had made connections on the pickleball court that turned into more robust friendships. One of the group's members is a chef, and she started providing complimentary cooking classes to the group once a month, using the building's public kitchen. As she looks toward the future, Harron said she expects to maintain those friendships even if she moves out of the building. When she moves to a single-family home, she said she hopes to come back for rounds of pickleball and invite her friends in the building to her home as well. 'We've just made some really tight bonds in the year and a half that I've been here,' she said. 'We even go out once a month to celebrate each other's birthdays, and I imagine we're on our way to being lifelong friends.'
Press and Journal
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Capercaillie star on drinking beer in Fort William caravan with Liam Neeson
Drinking beer in an old caravan in Fort William with film star Liam Neeson remains a treasured memory for Capercaillie accordionist Donald Shaw It was also a pivotal moment in the Celtic music trailblazer's career trajectory that propelled the band from the Highlands to a world-wide force. Not only did Capercaillie provide the music for Rob Roy, they also performed in the 1995 smash hit Hollywood movie alongside leading star Neeson. In between scenes they passed the time swigging beer – until the producer put a stop to the fun for fear the Hollywood star would get too drunk. Donald explained: 'Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange were both lovely to work with. 'We hung out with Liam up the Glen in an old caravan in Fort William when they were shooting those scenes. 'He used to come in and have a couple of beers with us until the producer came in and told us off and to stop trying to get the lead actor drunk in case he forgot his lines. So he wasn't allowed into our caravan after that.' Rob Roy also starred John Hurt, Tim Roth and Brian Cox as the villainous factor Killearn. Music for the soundtrack to the movie was provided by Capercaillie. Donald said: 'At that time it was a really big deal Hollywood coming to Scotland. 'There was probably next to no obvious blockbuster movie that had Scottish traditional music in it. 'It was a breakthrough for us and opened up a bigger audience in America. 'It meant that we could think differently how we could produce music because Gaelic music is quite cinematic in itself.' Capercaillie are set to celebrate their 40th anniversary with their first major Scottish shows for more than a decade. From their roots in the Highlands of Scotland the band have toured more than 30 countries. Donald said: 'For the last decade we have been doing what you might call hit and run festivals around Europe. 'We have also played in the United States and Australia but this is the first major venues we have done as a tour in Scotland for a while. 'Over the years we did a huge amount of touring around the world. 'Life catches up with you as we were bringing up kids and doing other projects so we reduced the touring. 'During that time over the last few years we have always remained great friends so it's always a joy to come back together.' The band originally formed in the early eighties by high school friends Donald and Marc Duff (bodhran & whistles), both from Taynuilt. They soon added further musicians and Gaelic singer Karen Matheson to the line-up and released debut Cascade in 1984. Four decades on from that debut the band released ReLoved last year, featuring the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Donald said: 'ReLoved was taken from a lot of old material and then reorchestrated. 'It was a great feeling to be on stage such a talented orchestra (Scottish Symphony Orchestra). 'It makes the songs big, bold and almost cinematic. 'It's just a shame we can't stick all those guys in a van and take them on tour. 'The musical landscape is changing quite a bit. 'It would have probably have been quite unusual even 20 or 30 years ago for traditional musicians to be working alongside other styles such as orchestral music, jazz or electronica. 'But that is very common now. 'It is a very mixed palette of colours that everyone is using for producing music. 'I'm delighted traditional music is part of that palette.' Since his formative years rich musical palette is something Donald has embraced, having worked with musicians across multiple genres. He has collaborated with country great Bonnie Raitt, alt rock trailblazer James Grant, Peter Gabriel and Nanci Griffith. Donald has also shared a stage with legendary avant-garde free jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He said: 'When I was growing up in Taynuilt my dad, who taught me accordion, had a reel-to-reel tape player. 'He only had about half-a-dozen tapes. 'One was Sibelius, one was Bobby MacLeod the accordion player from Mull. 'Another was Ornette Coleman. 'It was a strange feeling to meet Ornette all those years later and share a stage with him. 'And trying to figure out how to mix up traditional music with free-form avant-garde jazz. 'He was a lovely man full of enthusiasm. 'Ornette had a great approach towards making music. 'His feeling was if we are experimenting over the period of the concert as long as we got one minute of beauty – that is worth the concert alone. 'I think we got more than that.' The band's major-label debut, 1991's Delirium featured 'Coisich a Ruin', an update version of 400-year-old waulking song which went on to become the UK's first ever Gaelic Top 40 hit. Capercaillie last released an album of new studio material in 2013 with At The Heart of It. Fans will be delighted to hear there will be new material this year. Donald said: 'We're going into the studio when we are all together doing the shows. 'We'll put down some new tracks that we have. 'With the way the world is going with music releases you don't actually have to spend a long time creating a whole album. 'You can just release a couple of tracks digitally and that is what we will do. 'We will get some new stuff out which might see the light of day later in the year. 'There's no going back from the digital world now, that is just the way it is. 'The benefits of that are that as soon as you have a finished track you don't have to wait for the physical process of it being ready on a format. 'You can just drop it on people the next day. I enjoy that side of it.'
Indianapolis Star
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
She has no palm, just 2 fingers on right hand. 'She can do literally anything.' Like hitting over .400
CLAYTON — Brett Taber lights up when asked about Grace Parks. The third-year Cascade softball coach explains how the sophomore played sparingly for the Class 2A state champions last spring as he watches her grab her glove from the dugout and join her teammates along the third-base line in left field. Parks can't stand not playing and she's worked her way into the lineup, Taber continues, proudly pointing to her recent performance vs. Franklin Central (3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs). She hit her first career home run a few days later, highlighting a two-hit, three-RBI effort vs. Indian Creek, and entered the penultimate week of the regular season batting .421 with 24 hits (six doubles), 15 RBIs and nine runs scored. "Her swing, it just mesmerizes me," Taber says, estimating she has one of the fastest swings on the team. The way Taber analyzes Parks' game is how the outfielder/pitcher wants to be recognized. Grace Parks is a multi-sport athlete (volleyball and softball), who happens to have a limb difference. "I like how nobody treats me differently because of it. I'm like a normal player who can do everything that everyone else can do," said Parks, who was born without a palm and with only two fingers — a thumb and pinkie — on her right hand. "My high school teammates and coaches don't exclude me from things. If it's something complicated, like a timed transition drill or relays, I find a way to work around it or they'll work with me," she continued. "It's never: 'Oh we don't think you can do this.' It is: 'No, we believe in you.' … 'You can play, so we're going to play you.'" Sports are like the "great equalizer," her parents observed, an opportunity to stand on level footing with everyone else. "That's what's driven her." Most probably wouldn't expect softball to be Grace's sport of choice. Even her parents, Carly and Bryan Parks, discouraged the athletic youngster from it initially. It's such a hands-oriented sport, Bryan said. "I wasn't sure it would be good for her." 'This is crazy.' Hendricks County softball sisters go head-to-head on the diamond But their daughter had been inspired by her older sister, Sidney Parks (now a senior pitcher at Plainfield) and was determined to follow in her footsteps. We'll see how it goes, her parents told her. Then during one of Sidney's Little League games, a 4-year-old Grace ran down a foul ball behind the backstop — and made the right-handed throw to her parents. "I think she can do it," Carly told her husband. "Grace can literally do anything." Grace was nothing if not eager and determined when she first started, willing to give anything a try as she and Bryan experimented with various approaches to hitting and fielding. The swing Taber raves about? That was step one in determining if Grace could play softball, Bryan said. They went through various bats, grips and swings as they tried to determine what worked with Grace's "tiny, tiny hand," she said, recalling the countless practice sessions at Swinford Park in Plainfield. She wasn't strong enough to support the bat with only her left hand yet, so Bryan had her rest it in the slot between her thumb and pinkie, and raise her right elbow to create a platform for it to rest on. The bat slid down from her shoulder, which kept it level as it came off her elbow, then she would essentially punch the bat with her right hand and whip it through the zone with her left. It was both brilliant and effective, inspired in part by Katelyn Pavey, a softball player in Lanesville who was born with half a left arm with two digits below the elbow. But as she got older, Grace wanted to look like everyone else, to have a normal swing. It was a point of contention initially, Bryan said, but she's now strong enough to support the bat with her left hand and has a more traditional stance. A "mesmerizing" swing, as Taber described it. "It's been a fun, creative challenge to try to help her succeed and she's always been very agreeable to doing what it takes to make it work," Bryan said. "She's a competitor." Hitting came relatively easy for Grace, as did throwing — at least through the first few years of her career when she was able to use her dominant hand. When she decided she not only wanted to continue playing beyond 8U (bigger softballs beginning at 10U), but also wanted to be a pitcher like Sidney, Grace had to learn to throw left-handed. So they continually practiced throwing lefty until she got it down. The biggest challenge was the glove exchange, which involved countless hours studying film and talking with Pavey, who met with the Parks after a game and showed them how she did it. But Pavey, not unlike everyone else they found online — including former Major League Baseball player Jim Abbott, who's written to Grace in the past — had either half an arm or no arm entirely. And in those scenarios, Bryan said, it's actually easier to make the transition than with only one hand. The solution? When Grace is pitching, she uses an 8U starter glove on her right hand that she's able to open and close with two fingers. In the outfield, she catches with her left hand, transitions the glove over and throws the ball with her left hand. Asked if there were sources of inspiration beyond her older sister, Grace recalled attending a camp with Pavey for athletes with limb difference. "It was really cool to see how everyone adjusted and made their own ways," she said. There was a baseball player with no arms, who held his glove in his mouth when he caught the ball, then flipped it up to himself. Another athlete, a woman with no arms, taught her how to do a back handspring. "Some were like me, some were missing a lot more, and they were doing sports just like normal," Grace smiled. "It was like, if they can do that, then I can, too." "She was so young when we started this (and) it's a good thing we tackled it then, because things got very difficult mentally for her in middle school. It gets hard because kids get mean. … Things got a little bumpy." Grace could sense it as she moved into the on-deck circle for her first at-bat a few weeks ago: A couple of fans were staring and pointing at her hand. Grace's physical therapist called her a superhero the first time they met, echoing a sentiment Carly and Bryan have tried impressing upon her over the years. They think she's an amazing inspiration, a superhero, Carly said. "But Grace has never asked for anyone to be inspired by her. She just wants to be thought of as an athlete first." Over the past two years, Carly continued, their daughter has begun embracing it and is learning to talk about her disability in a positive light rather than trying to hide it as she did through middle school. Bryan watched from across the way as his daughter simply stared back at the two fans marveling at her right hand, offering a polite "hey" before taking another practice swing. "I tell myself they think it's cool and that's why they're staring," Grace says, a sly smile forming across her face. "I've been more out with it," Grace continued. "I always thought, oh my gosh, people are gonna treat me differently. They're not gonna like it. … But now I'm just like, it's not really my problem." Following the brief exchange, Grace stepped to the plate and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt in her first at-bat, the prelude to a 2-for-2 performance that included an RBI and two runs scored — and initiated her current six-game hit streak. "Grace is an inspiration to me, how she does all that she does," Sidney said. "I'm so inspired by her. … (And) I'm excited to see her inspire so many young girls, the older she gets."
