For more than two decades, a familiar spot along the bricks near the home dugout at Roberto Hernandez Stadium was known to many as "Ms. Judy's place."
It was from that spot that Judy Thomas spent 22 years supporting the USC Aiken baseball team, its athletes and her husband, then-head coach Kenny.
Now that spot will officially be known as "Ms. Judy's Place," complete with a plaque dedicated to her before Sunday's regular-season finale against USC Beaufort.
"I cannot tell you how much this means to me and our family. I was thinking this morning, this is a first. This is a first spouse that's ever been honored like this, I believe," Kenny said to the crowd of friends and family on hand. "You know, we love this place. We spent 22 years here. We loved this place. Ms. Judy loved Pacer baseball, which we all know. It's always special in my heart. She fought (cancer) hard. She fought really hard. She passed away in September. She fought really hard, and I know she's looking down on us from heaven today. Thank y'all so much."
Judy was a fixture at USCA baseball games, longing for the first pitch of every new season and lamenting when each one would come to an end. She sat near the bricks at Roberto Hernandez Stadium for game after game, greeting each Pacer batter in the on-deck circle with words of encouragement and occasionally offering some feedback for the umpires.
"No matter what the game circumstances, winning by 10 or losing, she urged her Pacers on," public address announcer Joe Kucharski said. "Judy was as much a part of gameday as the reading of the team lineups and the playing of The Star-Spangled Banner."
And it wasn't just at games - her impact on USCA's baseball program extended well beyond what happened between the lines.
"She ensured every player was fed between each doubleheader game," Kucharski said. "She typically procured the groceries and made 90 to 100 ham sandwiches in setting up a buffet line to feed the players, coaches and umpires. Players were often invited to the home for holiday meals, trying to ensure that the players unable to travel home due to distance or expense were not away from home and all alone."
Her battle with colon cancer was a long and difficult one, but she said after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch during Kenny's final season in 2021 that they made the choice to rely on their faith to overcome the fear that accompanied the disease.
Her fight gave her husband some perspective, too, and he said after coaching in his final game that he thinks the players also learned something from her perseverance.
Kenny, Judy and their daughter Jenny once calculated that Kenny spent about 75 hours a week at the ballpark, a number he said sounded about right.
Though he's no longer here coaching, and she's no longer spectating, at USCA, after Sunday she'll always be at the ballpark - right where everyone remembers.
