BOSTON, Mass. — After a long and rigorous journey, Lowell native Kaleb Ort has seen his lifelong dreams come true.
On Monday night, in the eighth inning against the Seattle Mariners, Ort took to the mound for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The 29-year-old gave up a hit, recorded an out and walked a batter in the 5-4 loss, but it was less about the results and more about his hard work paying off.
Ort pitched at Aquinas College before going undrafted in 2014.
He would pitch in Independent ball before signing with the New York Yankees and working his way up through Minor League Baseball.
This past off-season, the right-handed pitcher was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft and pitched well in Triple-A, with a 3.12 ERA in 43.1 innings of work.
Third year Aquinas baseball head coach Chris LaMange says his story is one that will inspire his players for years to come.
"Hard work does pay off," LaMange smiled while talking about Ort's journey. "There will be bumps in the road, it's not an easy path but if you have that fire inside and have that goal, it can happen. It's a great example to show our guys, he is someone who was in our building, wore their uniform and was in their shoes, he had a dream and accomplished it."
