MANKATO, MN (April 6, 2017) – Brodney Rodning, walked off the mound after tossing a three-hit, 1-0 shutout for Minnesota State University–Mankato and looked to the heavens to tell his mother he did it for her. Tiffany Rodning had died the night before.
Tiffany’s family was at her bedside when she finally succumbed at 11 p.m. on March 23 to the colon cancer she had battled since August. Shortly before she died, Tiffany told Brodney she wanted him to pitch the game, no matter what.
“I know that she was sitting there cheering me on the whole time,” Brody told the Minneapolis StarTribune. “There was no way I was not going to pitch that game. I knew she had my back whenever I needed it. Sometimes I took a step off the mound and looked up to her, talked to her. She was there.”
After the tight victory over the University of Minnesota Duluth, the several thousand fans in attendance gave Rodning and the team a 15-minute standing ovation.
Tiffany’s joyful spirit endeared her to the community, and people stood in line for two-and-a-half hours to pay their respects at the visitation the night before her funeral on March 28 at Crossview Covenant Church in Mankato.
Tiffany, who had turned 49 a week before her death, grew up in the Winthrop (Minnesota) Covenant Church, where her parents still attend. The Rodnings attend a local Lutheran congregation in their small town of Gaylord as well as Crossview Covenant.
For a video news report, visit MSU-Mankato Pitcher.
