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Southern Miss pitcher motivated by late father, grandfather

Southern Miss pitcher Gabe Shepard alternates between two black gloves.

Stitched into each one is a reminder. One has his father's name and the other has the date his father died.

"If I get in a big situation, I'm just like, 'Let's go, dad. Let's go,'" Shepard said. "I'm telling you, it works, it's weird."

His father's memory is always with him — in the weight room, in the classroom and on the field when he points to the sky before every pitch.

Shepard was 18 months old when his father died. He was a teenager when his grandfather, a Southern Miss alum, died.