Brooks Conrad's first home game at the Dell Diamond did not start well for the first-year Express second baseman, but ended with a bang.
He ended a 4-23 slump with the game-winning home run against Midland on Saturday night.
"It definitely couldn't have come at a better time. We were tied up at the bottom of the eighth, and just to have an at bat like that, and keep battling, and then to get one out there like that, it was a great feeling to help the team out like that. The first one couldn't have come at a better time," Conrad said.
Conrad was the hero of the game, but his thoughts were on an American hero, friend Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who was killed in action while fighting for his country in Afghanistan.
 |  |
 | |  |
| | | | | | | |
Remembering Tillman
Brooks Conrad lost his friend Pat Tillman to the war in Afghanistan.
 
| | |
| | | | | |
|
"When I hit that home run I gave a little smile just in case he was up there looking down and seeing if I was doing well. It definitely had a little extra meaning," Conrad said.
Conrad played college baseball with Pat Tillman's younger brother, Kevin, at Arizona State. The Tillmans both gave up their professional athletic careers to serve their country after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Kevin was in the Cleveland Indians minor league system and Pat turned down a multi-million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals.
"Those guys made that decision, and I didn't blink twice about it because that's the kind of people they are and that's what they believe in. I was just so saddened by it, but if I know Pat, he went down blazing because that's the kind of guy he was. I was just proud to have known the guy," Conrad said.
While Conrad was praised as a hero after his game-winning home run, he says that description now has a whole new meaning.
Conrad and the Express start an eight game road trip tonight. Their next home game is May 6.
