OAKLAND, Calif. – Wherever he went on the field, Stephen Piscotty felt his mother's presence.
Two days after Gretchen Piscotty died from Lou Gehrig's disease at 55, her son was back playing Tuesday for the Oakland Athletics.
"All day, I didn't feel alone. I felt like someone was with me," he said a day later. "I had a round in batting practice where I hit five homers out of five and I've never done that. That's not me.
"… I felt like there was someone with me yesterday. I know it was her. She was with me up there during that at-bat."
Piscotty received an extended ovation from the Coliseum fans before the first time he hit Tuesday night. Before stepping to the plate in the second inning, he placed his hand on his heart — a gesture of appreciation for the reception in memory of his mother.
"That's something my mom would do when she wasn't able to speak," Piscotty said in his first remarks since her passing. "This was just, 'I love you and thank you'. That's what I did in the box and that's kind of her way of saying. I'm going to keep that with me."
Piscotty then singled to right as the crowd burst into more cheers.
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