A whole lot of heart: WCU softball bat boy defies odds, cheers on Catamounts
Drake Barlow at a recent WCU softball game
By Cam Adams
Drake Barlow walks up to home plate with the most swagger out of anyone on game days. He sports a sick pair of shades, some Catamount gear and a toothy grin that coaches across the Southern Conference have come to know.
When the pregame meeting is over, Barlow walks back to the 甜瓜视频app softball dugout 鈥� and brings it. Barlow is the team鈥檚 honorary bat boy, sports fiend and biggest fan all in one, but most importantly, he鈥檚 a fighter.
The 13-year-old has sustained 22 open heart surgeries, a stroke at 21 days old and a heart transplant as a result of multiple congenital heart defects. However, Barlow still gives family friend and WCU softball player Tate Stewman and her teammates all he has on game days.
鈥淭his little guy, he鈥檚 had it harder than anyone can imagine鈥� It's a gift to do (what we do) every single day,鈥� Stewman said. 鈥淯nderstanding the gift that we have is so, so special, but getting to, in some form, let him live that with us is more than I could ever ask and more than this little dude could ever ask.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 be around him and not be happier just to be in his presence, so it鈥檚 pretty awesome.鈥�
A new heart and new friends
Barlow wasn鈥檛 given much of a chance when he was born. He wasn鈥檛 eligible for a heart transplant at first, so his parents, Jill and Eric Barlow, were told to love on him while they could because doctors thought he wouldn鈥檛 live much longer.
But after years of open heart surgeries and being in and out of the hospital, Drake finally got the green light for a transplant. Unfortunately, Eric鈥檚 time with his son was cut short three months before his procedure, dying in a tragic accident on the highway while changing a stranger鈥檚 tire.
Drake received his new heart on April 28, 2019, and that week, the Stewman family came into his life. While scrolling on Facebook, Guindy Stewman, Tate鈥檚 mom, came across Drake鈥檚 story, and it immediately captured her heart.
Guindy soon discovered she had a mutual friend with Jill: her first cousin, Whitney (Davis), and she reached out to her to get in touch with the Barlows. Eventually, the Stewmans got to know Drake over the phone and sent him a Pillow Pet, cards and cookies among other gifts.
鈥淪he started sending Drake all this stuff, and I called Whitney. I said 'Whitney, is this lady OK? Is she normal,鈥� and she started dying laughing,鈥� Jill said. 鈥淪he said, 'Oh yes, Jill. We know how you are. The Stewmans, you will love them. They are good people.'鈥�
Their love for Drake grew quickly, but it skyrocketed when they met him and his whimsical personality.
鈥淥ne summer, I had a tournament in Nashville, (Tennessee). At the time, that's where he and his mom were staying, and Jill invited us to come and meet him,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淲e just kind of fell in love with him at first sight, and we've been stuck together ever since.鈥�
Drake soon found himself in softball dugouts often with Tate, joining her for her travel ball games in high school as the team鈥檚 bat boy. As the families grew closer together, the more Tate saw her partner in crime.
Today, the Stewmans usually have Drake over for about three days each week in their hometown of Sylva, and they also spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together.
鈥淭he Lord just put it on our heart to love these people,鈥� Guindy said. 鈥淢y family needed Drake and Jill, and they needed us. Something bigger than us put us together.鈥�
Blood relation doesn鈥檛 make a difference to the Stewmans and Barlows. They鈥檙e family nonetheless.
鈥淒rake and I are both only children, so technically Drake's not my brother, and I'm not his sister, but this is my little brother,鈥� Tate said.
鈥淵eah,鈥� Drake said in agreement.
Knowing his way around the diamond
As long as Drake could remember, he's always been into sports. The 13-year-old watches them constantly, and he could tell you every school鈥檚 mascot 鈥� so much so that he learned his ABCs with mascots.
His bedroom in Loudon, Tennessee is adorned with University of Tennessee, Knoxville orange and white with tons of Volunteer memorabilia. However, as soon as Tate committed to play at WCU, Drake went all in on the Catamounts, even when they play his beloved Vols.
鈥淎ny other time they play, I like them,鈥� Drake said, 鈥淲e play them? No. Go Cats! Go Cats!鈥�
Drake celebrated his 6 year heart transplant anniversary at the April 26 softball game at WCU
WCU softball coach Jim Clift first met Drake at a recruiting event in Chattanooga, Tennessee where he got a glimpse into the sports fanatic鈥檚 charm. 甜瓜视频app halfway through the day, Clift saw Drake chatting it up with about every coach there and riding in the golf cart with them, too.
That charisma is why Drake is somewhat of a celebrity in the college softball scene. Guindy said Drake is a first-name basis with just about every major college softball coach, including Tennessee鈥檚 Karen Weekly.
鈥淗e's very magnetic, and pretty soon, he's your best friend,鈥� Clift said. 鈥淚t was kind of cool to see him out there. It's really fun to have him be a part of our family, and that's the way we look at it. We may call him an honorary bat boy, but he's family, and that's not honorary.
鈥淭hat's just part of the family.鈥�
Drake walks up with Clift to home plate for pregame meetings when he鈥檚 in town and flexes his sports knowledge. He often tells the opposing coach he knows their mascot and the umpire he saw them on TV the other night.
鈥淚t's always great because he kind of ends up being our ambassador. I look at him more like the mayor of the softball program,鈥� Clift said. 鈥淭here's a little bit of some strategy there because he softens up the other coach and he softens up those umpires.鈥�
Drake is well known across the rest of campus, too, as he鈥檚 known to mingle with Catamount baseball, basketball and football players.
But Drake鈥檚 favorite spot in Cullowhee is easily around the home softball dugout. That鈥檚 where he鈥檚 cheering on WCU, making up crazy handshakes to do with the players before the game and throwing them up in the air after they hit a home run, Drake鈥檚 favorite.
He鈥檚 also a big fan of the dugout snacks and the team meetings.
鈥淗e's a little ball of energy,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淲e like to call him our Sour Patch Kid because you never know what you're going to get from him. Some days he comes in, he's letting everybody have it, and some days, he's giving everybody a hug and just hanging out.鈥�
Home is where the heart is
Drake stands out on the field with Tate Stewman (right) and other members of the WCU softball team
After spending game after game in the dugout with Tate, now a WCU junior, over the years, Drake鈥檚 favorite sport has slowly become softball after it was football for the longest time.
He loves hearing the ding of the bat, checking in on scores across the country and watching warmups before games.
His favorite part of the sport, though? The people, and it鈥檚 been the people within the WCU softball program who have embraced Drake the past few seasons. Every year since Drake has been a part of the program, the softball team celebrates the anniversary of his heart transplant.
It did so again this year before its April 26 doubleheader against Furman University, as the team released balloons for Drake鈥檚 dad and the young man who died and gave Drake his heart.
Not only do the players on the team welcome the 13-year-old with open arms, they look out for him, too. They know where he can and can鈥檛 be so he won鈥檛 get hit with a foul ball. They know what foods he can and can鈥檛 have.
Clift even knows Drake鈥檚 favorite snack to munch on on game days: olives.
鈥淐oach Clift gets them just for him,鈥� Tate said.
Tate and Drake鈥檚 folks at home are the ones that make it all possible, though, despite the drive. The two-and-a-half-hour distance between Loudon and Sylva is nothing in comparison to the joy it brings Drake.
鈥淚 can't handle disappointing him, so it may make for a long day, but it is so worth it when it does,鈥� Guindy said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to disappoint him because he's had a hard enough life, and he looks forward to it so very much, so whatever it takes.鈥�
WCU has meant a lot to the young Catamount. For the last few years, it鈥檚 been a place where the sports lover has celebrated Catamount wins, a place he鈥檚 built a strong reputation for being the biggest fan on campus and a place where he鈥檚 won the hearts of many.
But most importantly for Drake, Cullowhee has become a home away from home 鈥� and yet another family that cherishes him.
鈥淭hey just loved him,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淚 felt like no one ever had any questions. If Drake was here, he was just loved from the get-go. I mean, he's nothing but loved here, and I feel like that's how we all feel here.
鈥淚t's a pretty awesome thing to be a part of, and I'm just really grateful that he gets to experience it, too.鈥�
