UH center fielder dedicates season to cousin at Rice found dead last month.
As he rounded the bases, University of Houston center fielder Grayson Padgett touched his right hand to his mouth and pointed to the sky.
“That’s for my cousin,” Padgett said Sunday after his walkoff home run enabled the Cougars to sweep a pivotal threegame series against Wichita State.
“That’s for Blain.”
Only 21 years old, Blain Padgett, a senior defensive end at Rice, was found dead in his apartment March 2. Grayson Padgett found out the news later that night when he was pulled from a game at Minute Maid Park.
“I’m playing this season for him,” said Padgett, choking back emotions. “I’m living my life for him. It feels good that I could make him proud. I know he’s smiling down on me right now.”
Cousin like a brother
Padgett said Blain was “more like my brother,” and the two were inseparable. They grew up only a few miles apart in small-town East Texas — Grayson in China, Blain in Sour Lake. Both attended Hardin-Jefferson, briefly playing varsity football together. They went hunting and fishing.
“The whole extended family is extremely tight,” said Mike Fogo, the assistant head football coach and girls’ varsity basketball coach at HardinJefferson. “They are all close.”
The cousins’ paths almost took them to the same college. Grayson Padgett was recruited to play baseball at Rice, ultimately deciding to attend UH.
At the time of Blain’s death, Grayson Padgett took a brief leave of absence from the team to go home, spend time with family and attend the funeral.
“It was like the whole city of Houston was there,” Padgett said of the turnout for the March 8 funeral.
The next day, Padgett hit a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to beat San Diego 4-3.
“Padgett is a tough kid,” UH coach Todd Whitting said. “Sometimes life deals us things that we don’t want to deal with at the time, or don’t like dealing with, but you have to. That’s part of growing up. I’m just proud of him for keeping his nose to the grindstone with the ups-and-downs he’s had this year. That’s his second walk-off home run this season. I hope he has a few more in him.”
Faith ‘getting me through’
Padgett has found other ways to honor his cousin. The initials “B.M.P.” are written in black ink under the bill of his cap, along with his favorite Bible verse, Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
“(My faith) is the only thing getting me through this,” Padgett said.
Padgett is coming off arguably his best week of the season. The senior hit .412 (7-of-17) with four RBIs and four runs scored in five games to earn American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the defending AAC champion Cougars, who are in first place and in pursuit of a fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years.
“I guess I can say I’m lucky,” Padgett said of his two gamewinning homers. “It would be cool to have a few more, from anyone on the team. We just like to win. It’s fun to win.”
On his latest home-run trot Sunday, Padgett, overcome with emotion, took off his helmet as he rounded third base, slammed it to the ground with both hands and made another gesture to the sky as he touched home plate and was mobbed by teammates.
“It’s a lot of emotion that I’ve never experienced before,” Padgett said. “It’s a great feeling knowing I’m doing it for him and doing it for our family. There are a lot of people hurting. It’s not just me. I’m glad I can come out here and represent the Padgett name and play for my brother and cousin.”