WINDY CITY THUNDERBOLTS FIGHT CANCER NIGHT MEANINGFUL AS EVER IN THIRD-STRAIGHT SEASON
By Brendan Gallian
On July 25, Windy City ThunderBolts infielder Jared Beebe crushed a two-run walk-off home run to put an exclamation mark on a dramatic Bolts comeback over the Florence Y’alls.
The homer was the final piece to erasing a 6-0 deficit, but it wasn’t the most impactful trip around the bases that night.
Earlier in the evening, infielder James Dunlap and six-year-old Arianny — a pediatric cancer patient from Plainfield, Illinois — participated in the Home Run for Life. During the ceremony, Arianny received high-fives from both the Y’alls and Bolts while rounding the bases beside Dunlap. In the stands, fans delivered a standing ovation and thunderous applause.
“(Arianny is) going to run the bases for every kid who’s battling cancer, every kid who’s beaten cancer, and every kid whose battle with cancer is complete,” announced GOAT Gives Foundation founder Mike Martin during the Home Run for Life ceremony.
This year’s Bolts Fight Cancer Night, however, almost didn’t happen.
Martin was planning to take the year off from events as he re-organized his charitable organization, but ThunderBolts General Manager Mike VerSchave made it a priority to have him back for a third-straight season.
"We were going to miss this entire season when I spoke with Mike (VerSchave),” Martin said. “He said, ‘I won't wait until next year.’ So that's why we're back here.”
The event’s presence was especially meaningful to the ThunderBolts, where many within the organization are still missing former manager Bobby Jenks, who passed away after a battle with stomach cancer last July.
VerSchave said that Jenks himself enjoyed the first Fight Cancer Night in 2024 so much that it was set to become a recurring event even before Jenks’ diagnosis.
“The event was such a successful night, and Mike's such a great person to work with that we were going to do it regardless for 2025,” VerSchave said. “It became special and a lot more meaningful with Bobby (Jenks) getting sick and then ultimately passing away.”
It was a meaningful night for Beebe, too, who lost his grandfather to cancer. He said that he was already feeling emotional well before hitting the walk-off home run.
“Emotions were high, adrenaline was high, and to do something that special on a night like tonight, it's incredible,” Beebe said. “It's an honor to be part of an organization that does something like this.”
In addition to the Home Run for Life, another part of the event is special jerseys, which were auctioned off to support the GOAT Gives Foundation. When Beebe hit the walk-off home run, he did so wearing gold, with the name “Riley” above his number 27.
The night also featured a pre-game ceremony, and the players themselves had a chance to meet the kids that they’re playing for. Beebe called his time with Riley “awesome.”
The event throws off the carefully orchestrated routine of a normal baseball game, but it’s a change the organization is more than willing to make once a season.
“The players are getting out of their comfort zone to where we cancel batting practice,” VerSchave said. “It screws up their pregame, and they find out real quick how worth it is and how amazing the event is, and that's why we'll continue to do this.”
VerSchave says that next year’s Fight Cancer Night is already penciled in on the ThunderBolts promotional schedule.
