Boy who lost cancer fight inspires Gamecocks

Jun 30, 2010 - 4:24 AM OMAHA, Neb.(AP) -- Bayler Teal loved the South Carolina Gamecocks. And, they sure loved him.

The little boy inspired the ballplayers with his passion for the team, and how he courageously and without complaint fought cancer.

The team adopted him. Players visited him. He threw out the first pitch of a game in March. When the Gamecocks break team huddles, the players chant "1-2-3-BAYLER." They also wear his initials on their caps.

Bayler's two-year battle against neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, ended last week. The 7-year-old died Thursday, about the same time the Gamecocks were rallying to beat Oklahoma in a 12-inning elimination game after being down to their last strike. Bayler was wearing his Gamecocks cap the day he died.

"He fought like a Gamecock to the very end," said Bayler's dad, Rob Teal.

South Carolina coach Ray Tanner paid tribute to Bayler after the Gamecocks beat UCLA 2-1 in 11 innings Tuesday night to win the national championship.

"He's gone to a greater place now," Tanner said. "I'm sure he's watching down on us right now, smiling."

With South Carolina winning a spot in the best-of-three College World Series finals last Saturday, a movement started among Gamecocks fans to pay for Rob and Risha Teal and 5-year-old son Bridges to attend the games against UCLA at Rosenblatt Stadium.

A flight cancellation looked as if it would scuttle the Bishopville, S.C., family's travel plans, but a person who knew their story, Ashley Gilfillan of Irmo, S.C., offered to pay for a private plane to bring them to Omaha. They arrived for the second inning of Game 1 on Monday and will be here until the CWS' final out.

"The whole baseball team followed him, and they were a real good support system for him," Rob said. "We can't put into words how thankful we are for what everybody has done for us."

The connection between the Gamecocks and Teal family is associate head coach Chad Holbrook, whose son, Reece, is a childhood leukemia survivor.

Bayler's funeral was Sunday, and Rob and Risha hadn't seen Holbrook since Bayler died. Holbrook, other coaches and the players embraced the Teals when they walked onto the field after Monday's 7-1 win.

"I don't think the team could begin to understand how much it means," Rob said. "This is such a tough time for all of us, and it is uplifting to know how much they cared about Bayler.

"It's bittersweet. It makes you want Bayler to be here that much more because he would have loved this."

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ROSENBLATT MEMORIES: Steve Rosenblatt served as a batboy for the first CWS played at what in 1950 was known as Omaha Municipal Stadium. Sixty years later, he was back at the stadium for the final CWS games to be played at the stadium named for his father.

Rosenblatt said he wasn't sure how he would feel when the final out is recorded at this CWS, which is the last at Rosenblatt Stadium before the event moves to a new downtown stadium.

"Any feelings that I'll have will be after it's over and everything's gone away," he said. "Then you look back and say, 'Hey, that was the last College World Series.' I'm one of the people who was actually here for the first game, the first day, June 15, 1950."

Rosenblatt, a former Omaha city councilman who now lives most of the year in Arizona, also wonders how fans will embrace the new TD Ameritrade Park.

"I think the atmosphere will totally change," he said. "We're probably going to have a pretty neat ballpark that's up-to-date, which is what it's supposed to be. All the new amenities are going to be there.

"I think about the fans. Those are the people I feel sorry about the most. They've learned to enjoy Rosenblatt and the surroundings for what we have here. Now that's going to disappear."

Johnny Rosenblatt, a former Omaha mayor, was a strong proponent for the ballpark that was built in 1947. It was renamed Rosenblatt Stadium in 1964.

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VENTURE BACK ONCE MORE: Robin Ventura has the experience of playing at Rosenblatt and observing from the press box as a commentator with ESPN. He said players don't care that the stadium is showing its age.

"It was built a long time ago, so that's the way it is," Ventura said. "You go to Wrigley and Fenway, it's the same way. And people still enjoy going to those ballparks.

"It's not luxurious, but it's where everybody wants to end up regardless of how nice the locker room is. That's where all these kids want to end up."

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SLIMMER COOPER: South Carolina's Blake Cooper, who allowed three hits in eight-plus innings in Game 1, said his endurance has improved the last year because of a better training regimen.

"Last year, I knew I was a little bit overweight," Cooper said. "The coaches came to me, and for me I knew I had to do something about it to have a chance to have a year like I did this year. Our strength and conditioning coach got me in the weight room this summer, and I worked out hard and was able to lose some weight.

"And I feel like it's been a great key to my success this year and being able to last as long as I did throughout the year and maintain velocity and maintain my composure on the mound."

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SHORT HOPS: The three hits allowed by Cooper on Monday night were the fewest in the championship finals since the best-of-three format was adopted in 2003. Texas had a four-hitter against Florida in 2005. ... Boosted by Cooper's performance, the Gamecocks' team pitching ERA after six CWS games dropped to 2.41. ... Monday's attendance of 23,181 boosted the overall gate to 306,532, marking the fourth straight year of drawing more than 300,000.