Bigger Than Baseball: Bulls vs. Cancer
USF will host its annual Cut for the Cure Game following Sunday's series finale vs. UCF.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
University of South Florida (23-21, 4-11 AAC) vs. UCF (27-17, 10-5 AAC)
SCHEDULE: Friday, May 6 – 6:30 p.m. | Saturday, May 7 – 2 p.m. | Sunday, May 8 – 1 p.m.
BALLPARK: USF Baseball Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
ALL-TIME SERIES: South Florida leads, 79-77
TV: ESPN+
RADIO: iHeart Radio Bulls Unlimited
LIVE STATS: View
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFBaseball
GAME NOTES: View
2022 MEDIA GUIDE: View
DONATE TO VS. CANCER: Here
By Joey Johnston
TAMPA (May 5, 2022) – USF third baseman Carmine Lane is having the kind of season you'd brag about, leading the American Athletic Conference in hits (65) and RBIs (48). But you won't hear him speak about that — or much of anything else. First and foremost, he's a ballplayer. Otherwise, he's a silent, stoic observer.
"I like listening more than talking,'' Lane said. "If somebody asks how I'm doing, I usually have the same answer — 'I'm good.' ''
Lane's coaches, teammates, family and closest friends know there's so much more to his story. The ballpark has become his refuge, his escape from harsh reality.
For nearly five years, Lane's hero, his father Thomas, has battled oral cancer, which was caused by chewing tobacco, a habit he picked up as a minor-league ballplayer. Lane's father struggles to talk and keep on weight, fighting off constant pain after undergoing surgery, radiation and losing most of his teeth.
Six months ago, Lane's girlfriend, USF softball player Alexis Buchman, was diagnosed with brain cancer after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor.
For a 21-year-old college student, it's an almost unthinkable burden. But Lane soldiers on, insulating himself from negative thoughts, making his father proud, helping to comfort his girlfriend, yet still leading his team.
"Carmine has had to toughen up at a very young age,'' USF coach Billy Mohl said. "These are hard battles to go through for anyone. Cancer is something that touches nearly everyone. Our program is never going to stop fighting for this cause.''
When the Bulls host the UCF Knights in a three-game AAC series beginning Friday afternoon, Sunday afternoon's finale will be the annual "Cut for the Cure'' game, when Bulls players and staff will shave their heads on the field following the game. Buchman is scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch.
Proceeds from fundraising efforts will benefit the Vs. Cancer organization, which works with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Since Mohl joined USF in 2014, the Bulls have worked to bring awareness and raise money for the cause. In 2013, Mohl lost his first wife, Sarah, to cervical cancer.
"What people don't understand is what a battle cancer really is, the stages you go through, what it does to their body, what it does to their mind,'' Mohl said.
Lane can relate.
"It stinks, but I know I can handle it because I want to help the people who mean everything to me,'' Lane said. "I'm happy it's me being challenged instead of somebody who can't handle it.
"Until you're put in a situation like this, you really don't know what certain people can mean to you. I know how I feel about my father and my girlfriend. Every night before bed, I pray. I want to be in the best possible mindset. I try to believe that, no matter what, it's going to be OK.''
His Father's Son
As a toddler, Lane's first word was "slider.''
He was still in diapers, waiting up for his dad to come home, a plastic bat and ball in his hands. Lane's father had the same question: What do you want? Fastball or slider?
One night, Lane's liner took out an angel figurine, a family heirloom. Then he broke a framed picture.
"He stayed inside the ball and went the other way, just crushed it,'' Lane's father said. "I was really proud of him.''
Lane's mother, Cherri, saw it differently.
"Enough of this,'' she said. "We're signing him up for T-ball.''
Just like that, Lane was off for a baseball life his father had dreamed about and his mother would come to love. Lane's father played one season in Class A with the Houston Astros' organization, then worked for his family's company, Carolina Clubs, which provided bats for more than 100 big-league players such as Rickey Henderson and Tino Martinez. Later, he became a private hitting instructor.
Mostly, though, he became his son's biggest supporter and confidante.
Lane remembers a game when he struggled. He had no idea what he was doing wrong. Afterward, he hit with his father for an hour. He immediately felt better. The next day, he was 4-for-5.
Lane's father watches video of every USF game, picking apart his son's swing and approach. He also provides scouting reports on the opposing pitchers.
"What else do I have to do?'' Lane's father said. "I have no other life. I love Carmine and I love to see him succeed.''
When Lane's father was finally diagnosed with cancer, after stubbornly avoiding doctors for a few years, he had surgery. When he awoke, the first face he saw was his son, named for his great-uncle Carmine, strong, steady, unwavering, a man of few words.
"It's a great father-son relationship,'' Lane's mother said. "They golf and fish together. Carmine really leans on him emotionally and with baseball. It's a beautiful thing to see.''
When Lane's father was diagnosed, he couldn't work. The family lost their house in West Palm Beach, but has since moved to Lakeland with Carmine's brother D.J., just far enough from USF, but also close.
Lane's mother keeps everything afloat financially by working three remote health-care staffing jobs. Almost always, she's on call, usually with three different computers, three phones. She has worked from USF road games, always searching for the best WiFi connection. At home, she's usually on the berm, leaning against a light pole to get a great view of the field.
"Our life isn't easy,'' Lane's mother said. "We make it through. We had good times and bad times. When it's really tough, we have God.''
Last season on Feb. 27, the father's birthday, Lane hit a homer. As he crossed home plate, he pointed to his father in the stands. This season on Feb. 27, Lane hit another homer, then later gave him the retrieved baseball.
"You know, this Sunday is Mother's Day,'' Lane's mother said with a laugh.
Don't put it past him. Lane has a way of coming through — whether it's baseball or taking care of his family. He never says it, but he worries about his father.
"I'm not afraid to die,'' Lane's father said. "I worry about when I'm gone, my kids and my wife. I hate what I've done to them. I just want Carmine to achieve his dreams. I want him to be happy. And I want Alexis to be healthy.''
Meant For Each Other
Lane met Buchman in the summer before their freshman season at USF. It was a classic baseball-softball relationship. They had everything in common, including all those years of carrying bat-bags and cleaning the clay from their spikes.
"We just click,'' Lane said. "We just mesh. I get her and she gets me. You don't have to say a word to know how the other person is feeling. You can tell by the way they're acting. I feel like that's really special.''
Lane's mother said her heart melts when she sees her son and Alexis.
"They remind me of an old married couple,'' Lane's mother said. "They take care of each other. I'm glad that Carmine found her because she's really good for him. It's a perfect fit.''
Buchman first noticed some tingling in her fingers when she visited Lane during his summer-ball season in Wisconsin. She still felt it when she hung out at the Lane home on movie night. She thought it was a pinched nerve. Lane's father urged her to visit the USF trainer and find out for certain.
The ultimate news was devastating.
It was that word again.
Cancer.
"I don't really think I knew what was happening until day after my father's surgery, when I saw him and realized what had happened,'' Lane said. "I don't think I truly understood what this meant. Now I obviously do. I was young, probably to the point where I felt like it wasn't real, if that makes sense.
"With Alexis, I think it was more of a case of being there for her, being strong, doing whatever was needed. And that's what it's like. You do what you need to on that day. You don't dwell on the past. You don't think about the future. You stay in the day you're in. You're grateful for all the good days.''
That also means the good days at the ballpark. When Lane gets on base, he flashes three fingers on each hand, signifying Buchman's No. 33.
"If I have a bad game, Alexis always rags on me and I think that's awesome,'' Lane said, smiling. "She really enjoys watching (video) of my at-bats. She never wants to watch the whole game, just my at-bats and my plays (in the field). So when I make a play, I always look up to see the inning so we can find it quickly on the tape. Those are good days.''
Every now and then, the future flashes through someone's mind and it can get scary. Lane's mother prays for strength, courage and patience, while asking God to "wrap your arms around Alexis, squeeze life into her, keep everybody happy.''
Lane wants to play professional baseball. Mohl said he believes it will happen. But that isn't Lane's biggest dream. Not anymore.
"When people know about what's going on, they don't know what to say to you and sometimes they don't say anything at all,'' Lane said. "I can't speak for others, but there are times when I'm sitting in my room all alone and I'd just love for somebody to be there to hang out. If you want somebody to know you care, just show up, bring food, listen, just be present for them. That stuff means a lot.''
Lane said sometimes he'll allow his mind to flash forward, maybe 15 years from now, when all the horrible news and suffering will just seem like a bad nightmare. In the present, he might feel strangely guilty for being the healthy one, the guy who can still play a game. But his father and Alexis quickly correct that. Every hit and every play at third provides joy.
In his mind's eye, Lane sees a day when he's playing professional baseball, when Alexis is better, when his father has beaten cancer, once and for all. That's the real dream.
Will it happen?
The father's voice, almost always soft and halting, suddenly snaps to attention.
"Damn right it will.''
For tickets, please visit usfbullstix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls.
About USF Baseball
The USF Baseball program played its first season in 1966 and is entering its 57th season in 2022. Head coach Billy Mohl is entering his fifth season at the helm. The Bulls have made 14 NCAA Tournament appearances, including four since 2015, and earned their first-ever Super Regional berth in 2021. USF was ranked in the Top 25 by five different publications in the final 2021 polls, checking in as high as No. 16. The Bulls have won five conference tournament titles (3 Sun Belt, 1 Metro and 1 American) and six regular season championships (3 Sun Belt, 2 Metro and 1 C-USA). USF baseball players have been recognized with All-America honors 12 times, most recently with third baseman David Villar in 2018, and 18 have earned Freshman All-America accolades, most recently Drew Brutcher and Carmine Lane in 2021. Four players were selected in the 2018 MLB Draft, including the program's fourth first-round selection in pitcher Shane McClanahan, who made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series and was the Rays' postseason game one starter in 2021.
– #GoBulls –
