Sandy Hook Victim Honored Before Falls Church, JEB Stuart Baseball Game

The meeting between Falls Church and JEB Stuart high schools on the diamond Tuesday night was bigger than baseball.

Before the two crosstown rivals battled it out on the field — Stuart (8-3) ultimately won the game 11-4 over Falls Church (2-9) — they took a minute to pay their respects for someone they’ve never met but the local community is rallying to remember.

Long before the first strike was called, Kirsten Wiley, a counselor at Robinson Secondary School, threw out the game’s first pitch in honor of her cousin Lauren Rousseau, a teacher and one of the 26 people killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December.

“It was extremely touching,” Wiley said. “It’s nice that it’s four months later and they’re doing this.”

Jaguars Coach Freddie Rappina said he wanted to honor Wiley’s cousin as part of the 26 Acts of Kindness Campaign, a way to keep the memory of those lost at Sandy Hook alive. Falls Church played the game in special purple jerseys with a Sandy Hook Elementary logo and the number 26; the name Rousseau was written across their backs.

For Wiley, Dec. 14 was just another day at Robinson until 3:30 p.m. when a co-worker told her about the shooting at the Connecticut school. She knew her cousin was a teacher in Connecticut but didn’t know where. When Wiley called her parents, everything changed. At 11 p.m. she found out a police detail had been assigned to her family in Connecticut and Rousseau was still not accounted for.

“They found out about 2 a.m. that she was one of the victims,” Wiley said. “That was my cousin.”

In the wake of their loss, Wiley said her cousin’s parents have spoken out about gun laws and have visited The White House to meet with President Barack Obama and have gotten support from Vice President Joe Biden. Rappina, a Fairfax County Police officer, said the event at Falls Church High was not meant to take a stance on gun control laws.

“They don’t want it to happen to anyone else,” Wiley said.

Rappina said he wanted to do something in support of his friend ever since he found out about her family’s loss. The original date was pushed back because of a rainout but Rappina was determined to make it happen.

“It was just a coincidence that we were playing JEB,” Rappina said. “She didn’t know what we were doing.”

Randy Lightle, head coach of Stuart’s baseball team said Rappina’s team is competitive and Tuesday’s gesture was a good one.

“Freddie did a nice job putting things together tonight,” Lightle said.