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Monday, May 29, 2017
PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Ethan Pecaut knew something was amiss when he heard his father crying while running up the wood steps outside their house.
The then-junior St. Vincent baseball player had already woken up that Saturday morning in November to a barrage of text messages from friends offering their condolences. A family friend from Ste. Genevieve, where Pecaut used to live, texted him, "If you ever need anything just let me know, and I love you."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Pecaut replied. That changed when his dad returned from hunting.
When Pecaut heard those sobs coupled with the heavy footsteps, he broke into tears. He knew a family member had died. Even that realization didn't fully prepare him. He never expected to hear that his mother, Alysha, had just died in a one-car accident.
"It was just so shocking," Pecaut said. "You wake up. You're going, 'Hey it's going to be a good day,' and then everybody's texting you and it's bad news, bad news, and you have no idea what's going on and then it just hits you. It's like, I did not see that coming at all, and it just kills you on the inside."
Soon, Pecaut's brother from his mother's side called him.
"Mommy's in heaven," Pecaut's brother said before both burst into tears. Eventually, the two brothers ended up at his grandmother's house as they tried to make sense of the tragedy.
Since that day, 18 months have passed, and much has changed. The St. Vincent baseball team is going to the final four for the first time in 16 years and will face Canton at 4 p.m. today in a Class 2 semifinal in O'Fallon, Missouri. Pecaut has played a crucial role in that postseason run and has gone from a student midway through his junior year to a St. Vincent graduate.
One constant throughout has been Pecaut's love for his mother.
The burly designated hitter has her initials on his glove and cleats, something to remember her by when he steps onto the field. Sometimes, before he comes up to bat he talks to her. In a sectional win against Van-Far he vocalized those thoughts for the first time. The result was a three-run homer.
It's been tough without his "biggest fan," but playing in her memory has helped keep Pecaut going.
"He's one of the strongest kids I've seen who can handle something like this," teammate Riley Riehn said. "Losing your mom is very hard. I probably wouldn't be able to handle it very well. I don't think anybody would, but he's handled it very well."
That night of the accident, a chance encounter between Riehn and Pecaut demonstrated the support the St. Vincent community went on to provide.
St. Vincent's Ethan Pecaut is hugged by a teammate after hitting a three-run home run during a Class 2 sectional against Van-Far on May 22 in Perryville.
Andrew J. Whitaker
Refuge
That same November morning in 2015, Riehn heard about the death from second baseman Matt Klein.
Immediately the two started talking about what they, and their class, could do for Pecaut. Later that night, they learned a small, impromptu gesture goes a long way.
Pecaut had gone to Walgreens with his grandmother, who wanted to print out pictures from his mother's phone. He happened to run across Riehn, who was on his way to Klein's house. They talked, and Riehn invited Pecaut to come watch movies with Klein and a few others.
"It was just real nice to have somebody to talk to there," Pecaut said. "Whenever your biggest fan and your mom's not there, it's just great to be with other people."
St. Vincent coach Tyler Search learned of the death the next day. At the wake and funeral, the team showed up to support Pecaut.
They were part of the large crowd at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Pecaut had never seen that many people in a church before and hardly knew half of them. But he understood they had a connection with his mother and was grateful they had shown up.
All that happened before last year's baseball season. Pecaut, who also plays football for the Indians, soon found refuge in sports. Baseball was one of several things that helped ease mind. But a game only lasts so long.
The grieving persisted, especially when he opened up his safe and looked at pictures of his mother.
So before his senior year, Pecaut decided he wanted his mother on the field with him. He scribbled her initials on his cleats. Before baseball season, he did the same with his glove.
Even on the diamond, he thinks about her.
A big group of seniors, including Ethan Pecaut, has led the way during a thrilling postseason run for St. Vincent baseball. The group is pictured posing in the dugout on Friday, May 26, 2017, in Perryville, Missouri.
Ben Matthews
Dedication
Every once in a while, Pecaut thinks about his mother before he comes up to bat. He talks to her in his head and asks her for help.
Against Van-Far in a sectional on May 22, the designated hitter took it one step farther. He prayed out loud.
"Mom, I know you're up there. Just give me something I can work with," Pecaut recounted saying after the 15-5 win.
In the dugout, teammates slapped Pecaut on the back and told him not to worry. She was always going to be with him.
Pecaut, who had struck out in his first two at-bats, then powered the ball over the left-field fence for a three-run homer. It was part of a nine-run fifth inning, as St. Vincent overcame a 4-1 deficit.
Two days later, Pecaut hit another crucial home run in a 7-6 quarterfinal win over South Pemiscot. His two-run homer in the fifth tied the game at 6-all and set the stage for a walk-off victory. It was his fourth home run of the season, according to the senior.
St. Vincent senior Mitchell Dobbelare eyes the baseball during a practice leading up to the Indians' trip to O'Fallon, Missouri, for the Class 2 final four, which begins Tuesday.
Ben Matthews
Pecaut doesn't know where that power comes from. His father wasn't super athletic, and neither was his mother. People call him a mutant because how else can you explain it?
However Pecaut got that strength, Search will take it. That power gives the Indians home-run capability.
"It's a threat every single at-bat," Search said. "It's one of those things where even if he's not going to hit it out of the park, he can find a gap. He can split center and left, and he can hit one into left-center and right-center. It's just a threat at the plate."
With limited opportunities to make an impact through hitting, Pecaut can get frustrated when he struggles. After the second strikeout against Van-Far, Pecaut threw his helmet down in the dugout.
To make sure he doesn't get too down, teammates and coaches are always talking to focus on the next plate appearance.
"You'll get another at-bat. We need you for the next one. That type of thing, that's something we always try to focus on with Ethan, keeping him looking forward," Search said. "Forget about what just happened, just look forward."
Search believes Pecaut can apply that forward-thinking approach to his life, as well. Pecaut can't change the past, on the field or in the diamond. All he can do is move forward and honor his mother.
"Just kind of going forward with that next chapter, just like we talked about next at-bat type thing and to use that in real life is also the truth," Search said. "He's learning how to deal with it and knowing that his mother is still with him and still lives through him. I think that's one thing that he's learned."
While Pecaut said it can be difficult to discuss his mother at times, he feels better now than that fateful day in November.
He's gone to the site of the crash, a Perryville exit ramp, with his grandmother. He wears a "Blessed" wristband his aunt gave him to go along with the initials on his cleats and glove.
And when someone asks Pecaut what makes him happiest, he doesn't hesitate.
"Just knowing that she's going to be there for me no matter what," Pecaut said as he stared at the left-field wall, over which he had deposited a home run days earlier, "and dedicating this season to her and dedicating my whole life to her."
