As entertaining and memorable as the action was between the All-City softball game between host Bishop McNamara and Bradley-Bourbonnais was on Thursday, one the Fightin’ Irish won for their first All-City title since 2019, there’s no doubt that no pitch thrown Thursday was as important as the game’s first.

Kyler Medina, 2, of Bradley, was recognized before the game and, with the help of parents Paige and Travis, threw out the ceremonial first pitch on Thursday to a standing ovation from hundreds of fans.

It was the second annual Strikeout Cancer Night the crosstown rivals came to host. Medina was recently diagnosed with the rare cancer liposarcoma and finished his first round of chemotherapy last week. Through various raffles, KylerStrong wristbands and a portion of sales from local vendor Sweeney Girl Sweets, Thursday’s game doubled as a fundraiser for the Medina family.

“It just shows that people really do care, people do show up,” Burnett said of the turnout of hundreds of fans and support they showed Medina and his family. “You can just tell how much this means to so many people.”

The relatively new fundraising night is a new twist on Bishop McNamara’s longstanding Purple Day game, which former state championship winning coach Laura Harms, an All-State player with Bradley-Bourbonnais herself, started after her late mother, Kathy Harms-Wood, was diagnosed with cancer.

To continue that tradition and see it grow into a community wide night is a special feeling for current McNamara coach Jenna Arseneau, who played for Harms on McNamara’s undefeated Class 2A State championship team in 2013.

“I love that we can give back, I love that I’m in a position to be able to give back,” Arseneau said. “Our community is so great. Even in a rivalry, we still can show out and show big for little Kyler, who is going through so much.”

To learn more about Kyler’s battle visit gofundme.com/f/help-kyler-and-family-through-this-tough-time.