Astros Prospects: Luke Berryhill with a day to remember
Luke Berryhill took batting practice on an aircraft carrier, sang the national anthem and went on to score the winning run for the Corpus Christi Hooks in one day.
Early afternoon on May 28, Houston Astros‘ prospect Luke Berryhill and the Corpus Christi Hooks took batting practice on the flight deck of the USS Lexington, as part of the team’s Blue Ghost weekend celebration. Fans were able to attend for the price of admission to the museum.
Later that evening at Whataburger Field, while the starting lineups were being announced, Berryhill was getting his battery mate ready for his start versus the Wichita Power Surge. The bullpen gate opened, and in full catcher’s gear, Berryhill walked towards the Hooks’ dugout.
With all the pregame pageantry coming to an end, Berryhill walked to home plate, laid down his catcher’s mitt and mask and traded them for a microphone. He went on to sing a near perfect, country music inspired “Star-Spangled Banner”.
Luke’s parents, Larry and Kelly Berryhill, flew in from Georgia to watch their son play baseball, the anthem was an added bonus. Larry, who was recording the performance on his phone, and Kelly with her eyes swelling with tears, couldn’t have been prouder. The night wasn’t over yet, there was still a game to play.
Berryhill was hitless in his first two at-bats, but ended up with three hits, three runs and an RBI. With the Hooks down 11-4, Berryhill hit his first of two doubles in the game and made the score 11-5. The Hooks would storm back and take the lead late in the game, 12-11.
Wichita scored two runs in the eighth inning to take the lead, 13-12, but the Hooks tied the game with an Emmanuel Valdez RBI-double. With Berryhill standing on third, 90 feet away from victory, Bryan Arias delivered a single to left, bringing him home to score the winning run.
Batting practice on an aircraft carrier, singing the National Anthem and scoring the winning run, Berryhill had a day he will never forget. And did I mention it was his birthday?