Excelling at the game of life

When Jarren Sorters was born Sept. 11, 2000, at Hot Springs, he entered the game of life.

He was among American citizens privileged to get into the game.

According to Christian Life Resources, 1,312,990 Americans did not get into the game (manager's decision) in the year 2000.

Jarren Sorters, like all babies, didn't get to pick his managers. In an imperfect world, some may arrive on the disabled list or physically unable to perform list, and some are put on waivers immediately; but nobody enters as a free-agent. These are the facts of life from a baseball perspective.

Once Jarren did enter the game of life, his managers, Prairie Grove assistant high school principal Joey Sorters and his wife Donna Sorters, coached the lad -- allowing his individual personality to develop. And develop he did.

According to a biography handed out to those attending the first Jarren Sorters Memorial Baseball Tournament held at Prairie Grove March 21-23, Jarren was active, competitive, driven, full of life, and full of compassion, from the beginning of his entry into the game of life.

As a toddler, the only thing he ever wanted was a ball in his hand and a feat to accomplish. Jarren liked challenges and was delighted when someone would create an obstacle course and set a time limit for him. He liked to beat the time limit and worked at achieving that goal by spending hours perfecting his skills. Once Jarren beat the time limit, he wanted to move to another level, asking for a course with increased difficulty.

Jarren continued to display the spirit of a warrior throughout childhood and into his teenage years. His tenacity made him a natural leader. One of his coaches, Billy Don Cates, who met Jarren's father, Joey Sorters, through a youth sports program called Upward Bound, remembers Jarren as a vocal encourager. According to Billy Don Cates, whether the game situation was 2-0 or 10-0 that didn't matter, Jarren was always cheering on his teammates.

Billy Don Cates was coaching Jarren when he suffered a foot injury in the spring of 2015. His son, Drew Cates, and Jarren, were close friends on a tight-knit team. The team was like a family, doing life together.

"Every father has dreams for his son," Billy Don Cates said, explaining he had to tell Joey Sorters a decision was made not to let Jarren pitch, although he would continue to bat.

In August of 2015, the foot injury was found to be a rare form of childhood cancer. Two months later, on Oct. 15, 2015, Jarren's left leg was amputated. On Dec. 4, 2015, he walked out of Snell Prosthetics ready for the next stage of life, but by March of 2016 learned the cancer had spread to his lungs.

There are those, who advocate that not every American should be given opportunity to get into the game; who in hindsight, might argue that had Jarren been kept out of the game of life, his parents would have been spared the heartache of a battle with childhood cancer, leg amputation, and death of Jarren at age 15 years and 11 months on Aug. 11. Under the supervision of a different manager with different values, Jarren may never have entered the game; but that would have deprived Prairie Grove of one of the community's heroes, whose legacy will live a long time.

Jarren's traveling team included two boys, now playing in his memorial tournament for Bentonville West, Hayes Godsey and Dakota McDonald, plus Will Feemster from Pea Ridge. One of the coaches was Will's dad, Jake Feemster, formerly an EMT, now a captain with the Bentonville Fire Department. Jake Feemster was coaching Jarren when he was smashed in the face by a line drive. A trained first-responder, Jake Feemster wasted no time in getting an ambulance to transport Jarren for medical care.

Will Feemster honored the memory of his friend with a prime-time play in Pea Ridge's 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Booneville recently during the Jarren Sorters Memorial Baseball Tournament at Prairie Grove's Rieff Park. With one out and the score tied at 7-all in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hayden Holtgrewe smashed a hit deep into the outfield. He turned on the jets for a triple, placing himself in scoring position.

Pea Ridge coach John King called for a squeeze play with Will Feemster stepping into the batter's box. After a called-strike evened the count at 1-1, Will Feemster executed a bunt that died between the mound and home plate. By the time the Booneville pitcher retrieved the ball and made a toss to the catcher, the winning run scored -- barely.

This was a play, Jarren would have been proud of. The tournament brochure states, "Jarren battled cancer with the same determined, tenacious spirit and drive he carried throughout life. At every turn, during diagnosis and treatment, Jarren continued with his 'Never give up, never give in, never quit' attitude.

Jarren's tenacious spirit is a motivating force inspiring the Sorters family to continue his legacy. According to the Sorters' family, "He never let his diagnosis or amputation define or limit him. Jarren Sorters loved life, and throughout his journey, he proclaimed he wasn't afraid because he knew his Savior."