{"id":309838,"date":"2026-06-16T22:57:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/309838\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T22:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T22:57:22","slug":"it-was-like-something-written-out-of-a-book-tallahassee-baseball-player-provides-inspiration-for-mom-battling-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/309838\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cIt was like something written out of a book\u201d: Tallahassee baseball player provides inspiration for mom battling cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – It was a home run long in the making for Preston Ritchie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three times this year I hit the top of the fence,\u201d laughed the rising senior at Chiles High School.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t just any home run, the hit was a walk-off grand slam for the first long ball of his high school career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!\u201d said EN Bass, Ritchie\u2019s teammate on 5 Star National Tallahassee, their travel ball team. \u201cAll the crowd and all the parents – they\u2019re like P!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a coach, you don\u2019t see those kind of scenarios,\u201d said head coach Cyle Figueroa. \u201cIt was something written out of a book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because baseball is poetic like that, and for Preston and the Ritchie family, you couldn\u2019t have scripted that moment any better.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is the foundation of our family,\u201d said dad Jason about wife Kim. \u201cFor her to go through this just isn\u2019t right. It doesn\u2019t feel right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KimKim Ritchie receives chemo as part of her treatment for breast cancer.(Alison Posey\/WCTV)<\/p>\n

Last fall, Preston\u2019s mom Kim found a lump in her breast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had just had a clear mammogram in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

The diagnosis? Stage two breast cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever thought it was going to be this close,\u201d said Preston. \u201cNever thought it would hit somebody this close to you. She told us she was going to fight as hard as she can and get through it. That\u2019s who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPreston actually was the one that said maybe this is God\u2019s way of telling us we need to slow down and appreciate life a little bit more, and I thought that was an amazing way to look at it,\u201d added Kim.<\/p>\n

She found out pretty quick, she wasn\u2019t fighting alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just really wanted to do something just to make her smile for one more day,\u201d said Figueroa.<\/p>\n

5 Star National Tallahassee dropped the Mafia Boys moniker, opting for Kim Boys instead.<\/p>\n

\"KimKim Ritchie is battling breast cancer.(Alison Posey\/WCTV)<\/p>\n

\u201cThey marked up these hats with the breast cancer awareness sign too,\u201d said Figueroa. \u201cI saw the jerseys, and I had to show Jason.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like are you okay with this?\u201d recalled Jason. \u201cImmediately, you can see me, I\u2019m a basket case, I lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAny way to show support to Mrs. Kim,\u201d said Bass. \u201cShe\u2019s almost like a second mom to me. I\u2019ve known her since I was seven years old. Yeah, it was really a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the Kim Boys played their first tournament in their pink jerseys.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe texted me before the game, hopefully the jerseys are lucky,\u201d said Preston.<\/p>\n

There was power in pink. Preston was 3-3 on the day before that final hit, the grand slam that walked off the win for the Kim Boys.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a crazy, magical moment you don\u2019t see that just don\u2019t see a lot, especially with magnitude of what was going on, and what we were wearing, and what we were trying to represent,\u201d said Figueroa.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce everything calmed down, it was like wait a minute. 4-4, grand slam, pink jersey, everything starts hitting you,\u201d said Jason.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt touched me very much, when I got on the phone with her about it, it was even more emotional,\u201d added Preston.<\/p>\n

\"KimKim Ritchie was diagnosed with breast cancer this fall.(Alison Posey\/WCTV)<\/p>\n

Because baseball is a little like life, even in a slump, there\u2019s always brighter days ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt definitely does make you slow down and appreciate things a little more,\u201d said Kim.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the little things,\u201d agreed Jason. \u201cIt\u2019s things you took for granted before that you don\u2019t know will be there forever, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike special baseball moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like a grand slam, in a pink jersey, designed with love for mom.<\/p>\n

To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n

Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n