Kelly's No. 1 fan: Moore is better, thanks to grandma's commitment

BENTON — When Kelly's Katee Moore was told by her doctors last March that her softball career was over because she had an unrepairable tear in her rotator cuff, Moore's grandmother, Patsy Moore, stepped in.

Patsy began visiting Katee's house every morning to light a candle and say a prayer for her granddaughter to be healed so she could play ball again.

Katee is in the Hawks' starting lineup at second base and hitting second in the order this fall. She said her grandmother is the main reason she is playing.

"From March 12 to the end of school, she came to my house every morning and prayed the rosary while I got ready [for school]," Moore said. "She's the most faithful person you'll ever meet. And I've said this from the beginning — I would not be out here playing if it wasn't for her, her prayers, her dedication."

Patsy always has invested a great deal of her time and energy into Katee's athletic career.

Since Katee began playing sports, Patsy has attended most of her granddaughter's games. She is one of the most boisterous fans out there and not timid about using her powerful voice to help jump start a rally.

Patsy has sat in her lawn chair right behind the backstop at games while Katee has played for the varsity team for the past four years. Wearing her Kelly Hawks jacket and cap and waving a flag with Katee's name on it, Patsy is known for her repetitive "Rally, H-I-T" cheer every time Katee and her teammates come to bat.

Katee said she loves Patsy's passion, whether it's cheering at games or her faith in God.

History provides important insight into why Patsy is so supportive of Katee and her eight other grandchildren.

Both of Patsy's parents and two of her brothers died in a car accident when Patsy was 12 years old. So when Patsy was growing up, she never had much family watch her participate in events. She vowed that when she had her own children and grandchildren that she would attend every event possible.

Patsy said that watching Katee play is especially satisfying this season after Katee beat all odds to recover from her career-threatening injury.

Katee has worked her way back to where she has been an impact player. She is hitting .463 with 35 RBIs and 16 extra-base hits, including six triples, and has helped the Kelly softball team earn its third-straight trip to the state tournament.

The Hawks play Marion C. Early in a Class 2 state semifinal game at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Heritage Park in St. Joseph.

Patsy said nothing in the world could keep her away from cheering on Katee and the Hawks at the state tournament this weekend.

"It means all the world to me," Patsy said. "The doctors said she would never play ball again and were worried about whether she'd be able to use the arm again. So we did some praying, and like I told Katee, I believe in miracles."

Supporting her family

Patsy said the death of her parents and two brothers in 1959 made her more faithful and more aware of how she wanted to live life.

Patsy was in school when the accident occurred.

Her 2-year-old brother and another brother, who was then a senior in high school, died in the accident.

Another one of her brothers, who was 5, was injured critically. His scalp was cut from side to side, but after a risky brain surgery, he survived.

Patsy's sister, who is two years younger, was at school, like Patsy, and not with the rest of the family.

Patsy and her two surviving siblings were put in the custody of their 66-year-old uncle.

"Growing up, I lost my parents at an early age and didn't have too many to watch me," Patsy said. "So I thought, 'Well, when I get a family, I'm going to be there when they do something to watch them and support them. And I did that for my children. ... And when my grandkids came along, I just thought, 'Well, I'm going to make sure that I participate and support them as long as I could.' Who knows what's going to happen one day?"

Patsy said her uncle, who has since died, attended her church league softball games, but she missed the support of her parents.

"She's always been supportive," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said. "I graduated with [her] daughters. And she was always there during when I played, cheering us on. And it's neat to see her still here cheering us on. She's got the Hawks' spirit like no other."

Patsy has three daughters and one son, Jarret Moore — Katee's father.

"She always said she was going to make sure for her kids and grandkids that there was someone there for them," Jarret said.

With nine grandchildren, Patsy maintains a full schedule. On average, she attends six ballgames each week during the summer. She has attended up to four games in one day.

Patsy, who is a teacher at St. Denis School in Benton, also has attended some of her students' games.

"[The games] are around the New Hamburg, Benton and Oran area, so they are like in a 5-mile radius," Patsy said. "So I go to one game, and then go to another one."

Patsy, a parishioner at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in New Hamburg, said only a church commitment would keep her from a game.

Praying for Katee

Patsy said when she heard Katee's softball career was finished, she might have taken the news worse than Katee.

She always has received joy from watching Katee play because of Katee's love of softball.

As Katee went through physical therapy, Patsy turned to prayer.

Katee originally had surgery to repair the tear in her rotator cuff last October. An additional manipulation procedure was performed last March to give her a better range of motion. It was then that doctors found the tear had become worse and was too large to repair. Katee was told she never would play again because her arm would not be able to move back far enough for her to throw the softball well.

Patsy said she happened to find a prayer card, which had on it a rose pedal in honor of the Blessed Mother, the day after Katee received word she would not play again.

The card also included a phone number on it, which Patsy called. It was a number for a man in New York. When Patsy told the man about Katee's situation, he told her to pray for Katee and to rub the card on her injury. Patsy asked the man to send her more prayer cards. He did, and Patsy followed his instructions.

"She was always there," Katee said of Patsy, "telling me, 'God will get you through it. You'll be back out there. I know you're not going to miss anymore than you have to.' And that's kind of how it was from the beginning. She was there encouraging me the whole time."

Katee said Patsy gave her one of the prayer cards to put in her pillow case.

"She prayed with that [prayer card] in her hand," Katee said. "She's so faithful to God. And I think that's why I'm able to play now — because she's so faithful to God."

Katee also said her grandmother supported her by assisting her with her everyday needs, including helping her to do her laundry.

Patsy brought Katee's cousin Sydney Kern, an elementary school student, to Katee's house with her every morning to pray. Patsy said they first prayed for Katee to regain full use of her arm, then for her to be able to play softball again. Patsy thinks this helped increase both Sydney's and Katee's faith.

"Katee would be getting ready and you could tell she was praying with us," Patsy said. "She didn't stop us. And she didn't think we were silly."

Jarret said Patsy would have done the same for any of her nine grandchildren.

Patsy said she was impressed by Katee's determination to return to the field. Katee even searched on the Internet for a left-handed softball glove, determined that if she still was unable to throw right-handed, she would learn to throw left-handed.

"In her lifetime, she has had several crosses to bear, but she's always made the best of it and is determined to work hard," Patsy said of Katee.

Cheering energetically

Patsy has good reason to cheer this fall. Katee is back and playing better than ever.

Katee's rotator cuff in her right arm remains torn, but she has gained enough mobility in her shoulder through physical therapy to throw. A switch from shortstop to second also helped the situation.

Katee said the physical therapists' intensive work and Patsy's prayers that helped motivate her to attend therapy are the reasons she is back on the field.

She also credits her situation with giving her a career path. While she does not plan on playing college softball because of the injury, she plans on attending the University of Missouri with the goal of becoming a physical therapist.

On the field, Katee's .463 average is 88 points higher than last year.

And Patsy is right there cheering on Katee, as enthusiastically as ever before.

"I love it and they [my teammates] all love it," Katee said about her grandmother's cheering. "There was actually a couple games in a week that she wasn't able to make it to. And everybody was so just ... blah. Brittany Brantley made the comment, 'It's because [your grandmother] is not here keeping us up.'"

Patsy said her main cheer is "Rally H-I-T." She rhythmically repeats this while Kelly is hitting.

"I don't know how I picked it up," Patsy said. "Some of my grandchildren [and] their teammates cheer with me, and some of them do not. But it seems like the cheer helps them to get motivated and want to win. But the first time I did it we were really far behind. And we came from behind and we won, so that's sort of been my traditional cheer.

"The other cheers — no one wants to do them with me. That one I can carry on by myself. I can keep it going."

Patsy cheers for the majority of most games. She said she never gets tired and never loses her voice.

"Sometimes I'll get a remark," Patsy said. "I tell them I'm just as loud at church. I am. My students ... say 'Mrs. Moore, I know you were in church, I heard you singing or praying.' So God just gave me a voice that carries."

Moore said her whole family — not just her grandmother — is supportive and for that reason she is fortunate.

"She [Patsy] is there, and I have my other set of grandparents who are always there," Moore said. "I have a very supportive family. I couldn't ask for anything else."