Family, teammates, friends remember Osburn

The McKale Center is a large facility, bu it wasn't nearly large enough to contain the heart of deceased Wildcat second baseman Kelsey Osburn.

As family, teammates and friends celebrated Osburn's life Saturday in a memorial at the McKale Center, one word was used over and over to describe the fallen Wildcat infielder - heart.

Osburn died this summer in Rochester, N.Y., after being struck in the head by a batted ball during warm-ups before a game as a member of the Newark (N.Y.) Raptors.

At Saturday's memorial, Osburn's teammates were quick to praise the 5-foot-7 infielder's spirit.

"Kelsey may not have been the biggest guy on the field but he had the biggest heart," UA junior pitcher Ben Diggins said. "I believe we should use this day not to mourn Kelsey Osburn but to celebrate Kelsey."

Osburn's encompassing smile and energetic attitude clearly affected the lives of those around him - a crowd of about a thousand people attended the memorial service.

Former Arizona baseball coach Jerry Kindall emceed the service. Several people - including Osburn's father and teammates Shelley Duncan, Keoni DeRenne and Diggins -remembered Osburn in the evening service.

DeRenne, who flew in from Macon, Ga. to attend the service admired his teammate as the ultimate role model.