CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1415174
CityViewNC.com | 43 She works in the central office of the Cumberland County Schools and used the freedom of having Fridays off during the summer. When traveling, she takes a computer, iPad and cellphone along. "I have participated in many a meeting from a rental car, airport or hotel room,'' Alana said. "ey are very, very good to me.'' Aside from being there for Austin's initial game, the highlight for Alana so far came when she traveled to watch him play the Rangers in Texas. Austin came on in relief of Angels' ace Shohei Ohtani in the seventh inning. Suddenly a foul ball began soaring up toward the skyboxes where Alana was. e ball hit a television monitor in the next skybox, then bounced down to the floor and rolled right over and into her hands. "I threw my hands up in the air,'' she said. "By then everybody in the skyboxes knew I had to be related to that kid on the mound. It was a crazy atmosphere. ey were Texas fans, and they were all hollering to me.'' Austin, who was still pitching, ended up striking the batter out. He finished with one inning pitched, one hit allowed, no runs, no walks and two strikeouts. For Alana, the entire experience has been almost surreal. "I'm picturing Austin as that kid in the front yard who was always playing ball,'' she said. "Or the kid at Max Abbott. e kid at Terry Sanford. He's always going to be my 25-year-old that I will call my kid.'' Keely may have put the experience best. "It's going to hit me that my brother is a major leaguer,'' she said. "I think we're still in process of putting words to what it's meant for us. It's been special to be part of the ride.'' 230 E Russell Street Downtown Fayetteville "When he began pitching, he learned it fast and he learned to dominate...pitchers have to learn quick and have a short memory...he never gets rattled...that's an amazing mental aspect.'' 4140 RAMSEY STREET, STE 104 FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28311 www.lewis-dentistry.com L L FAMILY DENTISTRY LEWIS Voted BEST DENTIST two years in a row! LEWIS FAMILY DENTISTRY (910) 488-0518