Gehrig Conard Doing it for Dad: Stone Ace honoring Kevin Conard through Baseball

When the Stone baseball team plays its first home game of the season on Saturday, the raw emotion of that night will have passed, but the lasting legacy of a coach and his son will be as strong as ever.

Just two wins away from Stone’s first trip to South State in more than 30 years, Gehrig Conard took the ball in game one of his team’s third round playoff series against Purvis, just two days after the heart-breaking loss of his father Kevin Conard.

Also, the Stone athletic director and former head baseball coach from 2001 to 2013, who raised his son on the same field that will soon carry their namesake forever.

“It was amazing. I mean to have 3,000 people here. It was just a special night that night. It’s one of those nights that I’ll never forget as a coach. And honestly, if that had been the last game I ever coached, I would’ve been fine with that. And even now talking about it, it gets me emotional. But we miss Coach Conard.”

With a first name like Gehrig, named after the legendary Lou Gehrig, the expectation is nothing short of baseball greatness, but the one they call G delivered something even greater than great on that mid-May Friday night in Wiggins, shoving a two-hit, complete game shutout in honor of dad, allowing the healing process to officially begin. “I mean it was a start. It was a start for sure. I mean from that point on, it’s just never been about me, like the work that I put in has never been about me. And it’s never going to be about me. So, I mean everything that I do is to honor him and honor my family and try to provide for the people in my life.”

Despite finishing four wins shy of winning the 4A state title last season, blessings were right around the corner for the ace of the staff in the form of a division I offer from South Alabama, later committing to the Jaguars on his father’s birthday in October and signing in November.

Conard says the MLB first year player draft is always an option, but at least three years in Mobile is still priority number one. “I mean it had always been a goal. I told everybody that I wanted to go play college ball, and not a whole lot of people thought I wasn’t going to. But I just had to outwork everybody. I mean I’m not exactly the most physically stacked guy. I mean I’m 5’10.”

What Conard lacks in height, he more than makes up for in velocity with a low 90s fastball and a devastating slider as his go-to out pitch.

Thing is, he’s still getting better, having already thrown three no-hitters as a junior and now as a senior, currently leading the entire nation with 31 strikeouts across 12 innings, according to MaxPreps. Head Coach Sean Miller said, “G’s what I call a throwback player, meaning that he just wants to win. That kid wants to beat you, and he takes it personally. So, when he’s pitching on the mound, it’s me versus you for 21 outs.”

Of those 21 outs recorded in Tuesday’s game at St. Martin, the bulldog southpaw punching 20 tickets in a 4-2 complete game victory.

Still early, but the Tomcats now 2-0 in games he starts this year and 13-2, dating back to the start of last year. “I’d give everything to have a state championship. I would tear everything in my arm to have a state championship. That’s the whole goal. I mean I don’t care. However, we’ve got to do it, I want a state championship. So, we’re just trying to get everybody to buy in and realize that we can get back to where we were last year and go further.”

Sometime between now and then, the Stone baseball program will do some re-branding, Kevin Conard Field as a tribute to the house that he built and the diamond G grew up on, forever the son of a coach. “He built this program up, and to honor him and when people come in and see Kevin Conard Field, we’re all excited about it.”

“I was ecstatic when they told me that. I mean I’m super excited. He definitely deserves it. Everything is going to work out for you as long as you just keep going. I feel like that’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned. So, it’s no matter what stuff I’m going through right now, I’m like okay, if I just give it time, I keep going, I keep pushing and keep grinding and it’s all going to work out for me how it needs to. And at the end of the day, I just kind of have comfort in everything is going to happen how it needs to happen.”

During the interview, Conard also confirming he did, in fact, receive a text from Brett Favre prior to that third-round playoff game in which he encouraged the Tomcats ace to go out there and have the game of his life and do it for his father.