In honor of half brother, Jacobs freshman plays ball

Hours after learning his half brother and mentor had been killed in a hit-and-run accident, Jacobs High School freshman Henry Gigeous made a simple but profound gesture.

He took the field.

Nick Adenhart, a 22-year-old pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, died early Thursday morning of injuries sustained when the car he was riding in was struck by a van that ran a red light in Fullerton, Calif., hours after his fourth Major League Baseball start. Two others with Adenhart, including the driver, also were killed.

The driver of the van ran away from the crash scene, but he was arrested shortly after. His license had been suspended before the accident for a previous drunken driving conviction.

Jacobs varsity baseball coach Eric Sanders said he received a call from Henry's father, Duane, shortly after the family had heard the news.

"He told me that Henry wanted to be on the field today," Sanders said. "Under the circumstances, we wanted to provide everything we could to him."

Gigeous, a standout first baseman and pitcher, has been sent up to the varsity team for several games, assistant coach John Sarna said.

Thursday, he played first base for the sophomore team as the Golden Eagles took on West Chicago at home. The team lost 12-4.

Last summer and fall, when Adenhart came to town to visit his mother and stepfather in Algonquin, he also worked out with Jacobs' players.

"It was really cool to have a major-leaguer come and practice with us," Sarna said. "The kids were really looking forward to watching him come to Chicago and pitch."

Thursday, he said, "was a real rough day for them."

Sanders remembered one instance late last summer watching Adenhart and Gigeous play catch.

"It was a touching scene," he said. "You could just see that strong brother relationship."

As a player, Sarna said, "Henry is a coach's dream. Everything's 'yes sir, no sir,' always looking for any opportunity to get better.

"You can see he truly idolized his brother. It's a shame. I'm just completely shocked."

Thursday afternoon, Sarna said, "I just told him that we were here for him. The kids were right by his side."

• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="javascript:void(window.open('http://video.ap.org/?t=By%20Section/Sports&g=0409dv_adenhart_react&f=ILARL','_blank','width=788,height=598,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1'));">Angels Postpone Game After Rookie's Death </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=285692">Angels mourn loss of rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart <span class="date">[04/10/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=285361">Angels rookie Adenhart killed in hit-and-run crash <span class="date">[04/09/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>