Baseball is Life

Please check out these links to the following baseball websites that are near and dear to our hearts:

• Mid-West Prospect Baseball League
• Saint Joseph's College Baseball
• Brandon Hardy Hard Work and Dedication Award
• Westmont Youth Baseball Association
• Westmont Babe Ruth Seniors Team - Eastland 2008 (Don & Shawn's team)
• See pictures of Brandon's Jersey on the wall at the best baseball academy in the world - Strikes! Baseball

Even the obituary that ran in the Chicago Tribune on December 31, 2002, focused on his baseball prowess:

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BRANDON HARDY, 22
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Brandon Hardy, 22, a star baseball player and power hitter for St. Joseph's College in Indiana who dreamed of a career in the pros, died in a car crash Saturday, Dec. 28, in unincorporated Palos Township. Mr. Hardy, of Westmont, was a senior at the Rensselaer, Ind., college, studying psychology on a
baseball scholarship. For the last three years, he played first base and catcher for the St. Joseph Pumas. "He was probably the best hitter in our lineup," said Rick O'Dette, his college baseball coach. "He was a kid who
worked harder than anybody I've ever been around, both on the field and off.  He was simply a leader. He had a real good chance to play at that next level." Mr. Hardy's parents said he was gearing up for next season, working out, practicing every day. He was just starting to shop himself around to minor league ballclubs. According to police, Mr. Hardy swerved to avoid hitting a deer and struck a tree; he and his girlfriend, Sarah Augustine,
22, of Darien, were killed in the crash. Relatives said Mr. Hardy was outgoing, charismatic and always said what was on his mind. "I loved our late-night conversations together," said his mother, Celeste. "We talked about everything. This was going to be his big year. It's hard to make it all the way in baseball, but he was going to go for it." Other survivors include his father, Don; two brothers, Adam and Shawn; and his grandmothers, Mary Hardy and Evelyn Peterson. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday in Toon Funeral Home, 109 N. Cass Ave., Westmont. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday in Notre Dame Catholic Church, 64 Norfolk Ave., Clarendon Hills.

Copyright (c) 2002, Chicago Tribune


Installed by the WYBA at the Babe Ruth field.                "Brandon" watercolor - a gift from Sarah's family.

Installed in the Westmont High School dugout.