Middletown’s Schwarber, wearing ‘purple power band,’ homers for ‘belated birthday gift’

Middletown native Kyle Schwarber, a left fielder for the Chicago Cubs, homered Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park, but it wasn’t a usual home run.

In the eighth inning, Schwarber hit his fifth homer of the season, and the sixth at GABP in his career, as the Cubs fell to the Reds 6-5 in 10 innings.

He was wearing a purple “Elley’s Hope” band on his left wrist. The “Purple Power Band” is in honor of Elley Ferrell, a sophomore at Middletown High School who was born with spina bifida.

Elley’s father, Pastor Lamar Ferrell, said he contacted Schwarber’s father, Greg Schwarber, a retired Middletown police chief, and said it would be “nice” if Kyle Schwarber could homer Tuesday, Elley’s 17th birthday.

Greg Schwarber told Ferrell that Kyle had broken all his “Elley’s Hope” bands that he frequently wears. So Ferrell gave Greg Schwarber more bands, and he passed them to Kyle before Wednesday’s game.

Elley made a video that she sent to the Middletown High School graduate. She called him “Mr. Kyle” and thanked him for homering as a “belated birthday gift.”

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