Rivals unified

Just prior to the first pitch of their regular season finale at Rice University’s Reckling Park, the Memorial and Stratford baseball teams circled together in prayer to honor Spartans senior captain Blake Barry. Blake was recently diagnosed with a rare blood condition known as aplastic anemia. (Photo: Matt Bennett) 

Before the Memorial High School Mustangs and Stratford High School Spartans took the field at Rice University’s Reckling Park for the highly anticipated end-of-regular-season baseball game, they put rivalry aside for something bigger. Both teams joined together to pray for Spartans senior captain Blake Barry who was recently diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disorder. Barry is undergoing treatment at Texas Children’s Hospital and has had visitors from his team. “Our kids have buzzed their hair and taken trips to the hospital to show their support. I’d say they’ve rallied behind Blake in a way that’s much bigger than baseball,” said Stratford baseball coach Josh Hall. “The Memorial players respect and love Blake just like we do, so the pre-game tribute was a really a player driven act by both teams. The kids wanted to show that we’re united as an entire Spring Branch community behind Blake.” Read more at Rivals Unified by Todd Freed. 

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