Service coach Willie Paul receives roses from his players in honor of his mother, Tammy, who passed away Wednesday. Photo by Lori Hickman
Tammy Paul rarely missed her son’s baseball games. From Little League to Legion, whether playing or coaching, Willie was a staple at the Anchorage fields, and so was his mom.
A hard-nosed catcher, Willie played high school and Legion ball for Service throughout the 2000s before he later joined the coaching staff in 2010 and became the Cougars’ bench boss in 2014.
Through the years his mom Tammy was always in his corner, always at his games.
“She became the biggest Service baseball fan that I know from the moment I first put on the uniform 22 years ago,” said Willie, 36.
He took the field for Friday’s game against Cook Inlet Conference rival South with a heavy heart because his mom wasn’t at the field. She had passed away Wednesday night following a battle with cancer.
Gone but not forgotten, her presence was still felt in a big way.
Service players made a banner that read “For Tammy” and signed a baseball with “For Tammy” written on it. Each player also gave Willie a single rose.
When the game started Service played the way Tammy liked it, using pitching, defense and running wild on the base paths to propel the Cougars to a 9-1 victory in a non-league game at Bartlett High School.
Hunter Christian pitched four no-hit innings with seven strikeouts, Coen Niclai banged out another extra-base hit and Rilen Niclai went 2-for-2 with four stolen bases.
Service (2-0) racked up 13 stolen bases and handed the Wolverines (6-1) their first loss of the season in a rematch of last season’s ASAA Division I state title game won by South.
This time was different for Service, which scored three runs in the first inning and plated more runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Reigning Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year Coen Niclai continued his hot start with two hits, a triple and RBI. The University of Oregon-bound slugger has a home run and two triples in two games.
Service all-state catcher Coen Niclai and his teammates give roses to coach Willie Paul. Photo by Lori Hickman
Christian threw 54 pitches and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning but was removed after reaching his pitch limit. South managed two hits against a pair of relievers, both going for extra bases on a Robert Hughes double and Landon Drumm triple.
The Cougars had extra incentive to win Friday. They did it for Tammy.
“While I was her only child, she was a second mom to so many more,” said Willie, referring to his players and his teammates growing up. “She was the ultimate baseball mom and cherished every minute with every team.”
Service’s win Friday was Willie’s 82nd in his high school career as he inched closer to catching his former coach Steve Nerland (84) for seventh on Alaska’s all-time high school wins list.
With another 184 Legion victories under his belt, Willie is closing in on 300 all-time wins. His mom watched almost every single one of them in person.
She was also at his side in 2017 when Willie overcame his own cancer battle. Baseball was something that help keep their minds off the pain – then and now.
“These last few weeks were extremely rough when she kept asking when baseball would be back,” Willie said. “Through it all she somehow managed to fight long enough to watch one last streamed game on Tuesday.”
She saw Service beat Chugiak 8-3 in the team’s season opener. It would be the final time she watched Willie on the field as she passed away the next day.
One last win, but not her last game.
“She will be in my heart forever,” Willie said.
Photo by Lori Hickman
