WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. (WKYT) – A Williamsburg girl got to honor her late father in a way he would have loved: throwing the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game.

On Monday night, Matthew Strickland and his daughter, Sadie, would likely have been at their home in Williamsburg, singing “Go Cubs Go” from their couch. Instead, 7-year-old Sadie cheered on the team at Wrigley Field, but her dad was missing.

Matthew Strickland drowned on April 27, 2025, in the Cumberland River. He lost his life while saving two young girls from being taken by the current.

Sadie threw the first pitch at the Cubs game on Monday in his memory.

“If he could have seen her out there, that would have been a lifelong dream for him,” said MacKenzie Lawson, Sadie’s mother. “She made me proud. I know she made her daddy proud. It was all in his memory.”

How the opportunity came together

The opportunity to honor him this way came together almost by chance.

Lawson, who is now remarried, said her husband surprised the family with Cubs tickets while traveling for work in Chicago. Lawson reached out to the team, sharing Matthew’s story and hoping for maybe a small keepsake. Instead, the Cubs offered Sadie, a softball player herself, the first pitch.

Sadie jumped at the opportunity to gain field access, meet the players, and kick off the game against the Los Angeles Angels.

A full circle moment

As Sadie approached the mound, her mother said the only thing she could think about was her daughter’s strength, even after losing her best friend.

“She exemplifies the courage and the strength and all these things that he did too,” Lawson said.

Lawson said the whole night felt like a full-circle moment as her late husband’s death anniversary approaches. Although Matthew was not there physically, she knew he was not far away.

“His favorite number is number 9, and for the longest time, the score of the game was Cubs 7, Angels 2, and I just thought, you know, 7 plus 2 equals 9, like he’s here, you know,” Lawson said.

When asked what she would tell her dad about the game, Sadie said, “It was very fun.”

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