RMHC family throws out first pitch at Dragons game

A young boy, whose family who shares a connection to the Dayton area through the Ronald McDonald House Charities, got the special honor of throwing out the first pitch at Sunday’s Dayton Dragons game.

Caleb Schlater represented his family and threw out the first pitch on Sunday.

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The Schlater family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House after their daughter, Gracelyn, was born with Trisomy 18, a terminal illness. The family took Gracelyn home after nine weeks and she passed away that evening. The Schlater’s described Gracelyn as a “big miracle who lived in a little girl, and touched many lives.”

“Being at the Ronald McDonald House, that meant that we didn’t have to leave her because we live over an hour away,” Kerri Schlater said. “So we were able to stay with her every minute of her life, and know that we were close by.”

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The Schlater’s also recently stayed in the Ronald McDonald Family Room inside Dayton Children’s Hospital after their daughter Gianna sustained a “severe brain injury” in a bike accident. Gianna is now recovering at home.

Schlater said today was a nice opportunity for Caleb.

“Caleb loves baseball so it was just really neat to bring some of his buddies up here and kind of take a break from you know trying to make sure [Gianna’s] okay, to spend some time with him and have some friends up here,” Schlater said.

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