Charleston shooting victim’s son throws first pitch at Yankees game

The Yankees surprised a college baseball player who lost his mother in the Charleston church shooting last June on Monday with news that he would be throwing out the first pitch at the team’s game that night.

The Yankees surprised a college baseball player who lost his mother in the Charleston church shooting last June with news that he would be throwing out the first pitch at the team’s game on Monday night.

Chris Singleton is the first honoree of the 2015 edition of Yankees’ Hope Week and was visited by Alex Rodriguez, Brett Gardner and Dellin Betances along with the WWE’s John Cena on the set of Today where he was invited to attend the team’s game against the Twins,where he will take batting practice as well as throw out the first pitch.

Today's #HOPEWeek honoree, @csingleton__2, will take BP with #Yankees and hit in Group 1. pic.twitter.com/39jWLMubtI

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 17, 2015

Singleton spent much of the day at Yankee Stadium with the team, even hitting a home run in batting practice. When it came time to throw out the first pitch, he fired a strike to Chris Young. 

Singleton, who plays outfield at Charleston Southern University, gained national attention for a speech he gave shortly after the shooting, proclaiming that “love is stronger than hate,” and forgiving shooter Dylan Roof.