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'I know he's with me': Senior remembers late father after leading Cathedral softball to state
WEST LAFAYETTE — Anna Moore was the last one out for the start of the seventh inning Saturday night. The Cathedral senior grabbed her glove and facemask from the cubbyhole above the bench and shared a brief moment with assistant coach Janae Hogg, the two laughing and holding hands, before she high-fived a couple young Fighting Irish fans on her way up the dugout stairs and onto the field.
Cathedral was three outs away from a 5-4 victory over Hanover Central in the Class 3A softball state championship game. And about 20 minutes later, Moore led her team in singing the school fight song with the mass of fans seated behind home plate, then was mobbed by her teammates when she was announced as the 3A Mental Attitude Award recipient, a demonstration of this group's genuine love for one another.
A little later, Moore helped orchestrate a well-executed Gatorade dump on coach Tony Matthews in the outfield. They caught him mid-interview, then wrapped him in another hug.
"I wouldn't be where I am without this guy. I mean it," Moore said.
As the celebration ensued behind him, a dripping-wet Matthews recalled coaching Moore's older sister, Valerie, to a regional championship in 2016 and photos of a young Anna covered in facepaint, running around with a little sign cheering them on.
"She's a great girl with a great attitude. She's always positive about things," Matthews said of Anna, who went 2-for-2 with a run scored and two RBIs in her final high school game.
Moore and Matthews share a familial relationship, a bond strengthened after Anna's father, David Moore, died of a heart attack in March 2022.
While he was hospitalized, Matthews brought Anna to the practice fields to help take her mind off things. His mom had died a couple years earlier, which "made it easy for us to talk about those kinds of things," Anna said.
"I'm never afraid to tell him when I'm not doing OK," she continued.
When David died following a week-long hospital stay, Matthews assured Anna, then a freshman, that she was OK to miss tryouts.
You're our shortstop. You don't need to worry about a thing.
The pair's relationship only strengthened over the following years. Matthews would drive Moore to softball activities and welcomed her to train at his facility, Champions Edge, on the east side of Indianapolis to help out her mother, Nancy.
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"We bonded so much during those car rides back-and-forth to hitting," Matthews smiled.
"The amount of time he spends with me at the field, throwing to me, after practice, during the summer — we're going to get right back at it because I have travel ball games in four days," Anna said. "He's such an amazing guy. He always puts us before himself. … It's so amazing.'
In softball terms, Moore — whose Mental Attitude Award news release notes her involvement with Guardian Angels, a group to help students who have lost loved ones, and Anna's Celebration of Life Foundation, which supports children with disabilities — established herself among the state's best.
A career .517 hitter, the Purdue softball recruit collected 187 hits, 175 runs (fifth all-time in state history), 106 RBIs and 15 homers (career-high seven this spring) in her four seasons, with 58 stolen bases on 64 attempts. She improved dramatically defensively over the past two seasons, recording just five errors on 163 attempts with 70 putouts, 88 assists and 13 double plays (26 career).
Playing at her soon-to-be home field, Purdue's Bittinger Stadium, Moore gave Cathedral a lead it would not relinquish Saturday with a two-run double in the fourth. She also converted all four chances in the field (three putouts, one assist).
"It's all hats off to her," Matthews said. "She's the one who put the work in. I just drove and threw the ball. She's always asking, 'Hey coach, come on, let's hit. I want to hit some more. Field me some grounders, I need another bucket.' Her work ethic is unbelievable."
Anna's attitude, her drive, her positivity — it's all a reflection of her father.
A Cathedral and Purdue alum himself, David was always smiling, always joking and upbeat, his daughter said. "Everyone loved to be around him."
Anna fondly recalled car rides together with the windows down during the summer and practicing fielding at the local park. Her dad never got mad if she made a mistake … he would just hit it harder so she could do it right.
"He always wanted me to be my best," said Anna, who has her dad's birthday, Nov. 11 (11/11), stitched into her glove. Softball was (and is) her safe space, a welcome distraction from the grief. "It's always fun."
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As she stood in the outfield Saturday night, blue medal draped around her neck and Matthews, her beloved coach, standing alongside her, Anna reflected on her father's memory and the significance of Cathedral's championship moment.
"With Father's Day being tomorrow, I know (my dad) is with me. It's so cool," she smiled. "He'd be over the moon excited for me. I started playing softball with him, so to do this for him, it's such a special moment.'
