By Bradley Welborn, LC Sports Information
For at least one day, four Louisiana College baseball players traded the diamond for a runway to serve as escorts for the annual Christus St. Francis Cabrini Cancer Center Threads fashion show Sept. 25.
Senior Keifer Moore and juniors Sully Martin, Zane Corbell, and Dylan Keller participated in the event, which began in 2000 and serves as a fundraiser for Cabrini’s cancer patient assistance fund. The monies raised from the fashion show help patients with such costs as supplemental nutrition or fuel for trips to the hospital.
Former patients get the full fashion show treatment with makeup from a local beauty school and outfits from local businesses to model on the runway.
While it is not typically something a baseball player would do, these four LC standouts were motivated by the fact one of the 60 survivors serving as models in this year’s show was Colynda Byrnes, wife of Wildcats baseball coach Mike Byrnes.
Colynda was diagnosed with breast cancer in November of 2014, on her 61st birthday, and underwent a mastectomy eight days later. She had her first chemotherapy treatment in December of that year. Following a year-long treatment process, she was officially placed in remission in January of this year.
“Our team has adopted cancer awareness as one of the things we want to do to help our community,” said Byrnes. “This event is special for our family and our guys have chosen to serve as escorts because that’s what we are all about. These guys are just like my own sons and Colynda is their mother away from home.
“There is more to it than just ground balls, fly balls, and curve balls and we feel good about what our team is doing to help out in the fight against cancer,” Byrnes continued. “One of these days they’re going to find a cure for this disease and these guys are going to be able to say they were part of it.”
When Coach Byrnes asked Martin, the Wildcats all-conference centerfielder, and his teammates to serve as escorts for this year’s event, there was no hesitation.
“I knew it wasn’t about me,” Martin said, “It was about Mrs. Colynda, coach Byrnes and coach Matt Joe.
“It was truly a blessing to be there to support those cancer survivors, especially the beautiful Mrs. Colynda,” he continued. “To see her stand up on stage, smiling and expressing herself — THAT is what made my day.”
“Cancer is something that has no joy or happiness about it, so to see Mrs. Colynda stand up there with the biggest, most heart-warming smile,” said the junior, “and seeing coach Byrnes and coach Matt Joe in the audience with their hearts filled with joy and thankfulness to God for what He has done, I would travel across the world and back to be there for that.
“There really aren’t words to explain how honored and how humbling it was to be there for Mrs. Colynda. She truly is an angel walking this earth.”
The LC baseball team participates in various cancer awareness activities and fundraisers throughout the season and in the off-season.
They have started a home run club giving fans the opportunity to pledge certain dollar amounts for every homerun hit by a Wildcat player. In the last two years the team has raised approximately $8,000 through the home run club.
Every dollar is given to the Rapides and St. Francis Cabrini Cancer Centers to help patients and their families going through treatments.
The team also dedicates games each season as cancer awareness night, which allows fans an opportunity to donate to cancer research and assistance in Cenla. The 2017 season cancer awareness night at Billy Allgood Field will be announced later this year.
