Shepherd baseball team rallies around 3-year-old who’s battling cancer
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — On Senior Day for the Shepherd University baseball team, the host Rams split a doubleheader with Lock Haven at Fairfax Field on Tuesday.
Fittingly, the star of the day was 3-year-old Cooper Jackson, whom the team has rallied around since his cancer diagnosis late last year.
Before the second game, Cooper threw out the ceremonial first pitch. And then came the big surprise as the Rams presented him with a child-size John Deere Gator, which the team raised money to buy. Cooper promptly got in it and drove it around the infield, much to everyone’s delight.
“They told us to come today, but we had no idea they were doing any of this stuff,” said Danielle Jackson, Cooper’s mother.
“He gets shy in big situations when there’s a lot of focus on him, so I’m very impressed that he went out and threw the first pitch,” she said. “It’s so special. … He has an incredible memory so he’ll tell everyone about this, for sure.”
Danielle used to coach softball at Shepherd, and Cooper’s father, Anthony Jackson, played baseball at Shepherd and is a former Rams assistant coach. Anthony and his family, who live in Brunswick, Md., have remained close with the baseball program.
A “Cooper Strong” banner, signed by all the team members, hangs from the press box at Fairfax Field, and Cooper’s initials (CJ) are stitched on the side of the team’s hats.
“Cooper’s dad played here and they would come to some games, and then we heard about Cooper’s cancer,” said Shepherd junior pitcher Chris Chaney. “It’s just such an impactful story for all of us. As a team, it’s a big opportunity to help make a difference for a young kid who has a bright future. It was really good for all of us to get something together and do this.”
“We have ‘CJ’ on our hats and a lot of us have wristbands with ‘Cooper Strong’ on them,” said Brenden Lewis, a redshirt sophomore. “At the end of the fall and then into the first games of the spring, we knew it was bigger than us, bigger than just a game, with him fighting for his life and everything.”
In December, a week before his third birthday, Cooper was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“It’s been a journey, that’s for sure,” Danielle Jackson said. “But he’s cancer-free, which is exciting. He is still in treatment so he’ll have four more months of the intense part of his treatment, and then around September, he should hit maintenance. And then he’ll be in maintenance for about three years.
“He’s still actively receiving chemo, once, sometimes twice, a week. Right now, it’s more so just keeping him safe, as far as his immune system. But right now, he’s in a portion of his treatment that’s a little bit less intense so he’s able to get out and about a little bit.”
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Shepherd baseball team rallies around 3-year-old who’s battling cancer
