Livermore softball team seeks NorCal tourney bid in honor of late friend, cheerleader ...Middle East

After a tragedy, sometimes being there to support each other is all you can do. For the Livermore softball team, that has been the goal since March 17.

On that day, Macy Perez, a beloved member of the Livermore athletic community who was an integral member of the Cowboys’ stunt and cheer teams, died at the age of 16 of an epileptic seizure.

Her death profoundly affected many athletes at Livermore High. Among those most directly impacted outside of Perez’s teammates were two fellow juniors, pitcher Kaci Norton and catcher Kymber Dao of the Livermore softball team.

“She was the first person I met in high school,” Norton said. “She came right up to me with a big smile and just introduced herself, and from there on, we bonded.”

Norton was far from the only one Perez made a lasting first impression on. Dao recalls meeting a new group of friends early during her time at Livermore, and Perez was at the center of it all.

“I met Macy at the very beginning of my freshman year of high school. She and my whole friend group were new to me,” Dao said. “ She was such a bright little soul who was always fun to be around. Macy was like the perfect friend. There was never drama with her. She was always there for you, ready to make you laugh or run into your arms for a perfect Macy hug.”

Norton and Dao knew Perez best among Livermore’s softball players, but they quickly realized how many people she had touched in the days following her death.

“Most of the people on the softball team knew and loved Macy,” Dao said. “I never knew just how many people Macy touched until her passing. Macy knew everyone, and she didn’t just know them. She made it a point to get to know them and become friends with them.”

Livermore had a game two days after her passing, a road matchup against Newark Memorial on March 19. It was the first of many contests the Cowboys would dedicate to Perez’s memory.

Norton began hashtagging selected posts on the social media platform X with #PlayForMacy, and the entire Livermore team has taken up the cause for their friend.

“They were always in and out of my house on a weekend basis,” Sarah Perez, Macy’s mother, said of the softball players. “Macy would call me after school and say she was going to go watch the girls do softball, and then they would support her, because she was a cheerleader and she was in stunt. It was cute how all the female athletes were very supportive of each other despite the disciplines varying.”

The Cowboys’ players are often seen with light blue ribbons – Perez’s favorite color – in their hair or on their visors, signifying their remembrance of what Perez meant to them.

“We hope when people see the light blue color of Macy, they think of how she lived her life and how they can live like her,” Dao said. “Macy was truly the best, and it is a blessing to have had her in my life. She was a perfect example of how to be a loving, kind and sweet human being.”

On March 17, Livermore’s record was 2-2. Since then, the Cowboys have gone 17-7, coming together as a group in the face of tragedy.

“We played for her and turned our season around,” Norton said.

Sarah Perez said her daughter suffered a sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), a rare circumstance where someone with epilepsy dies without a specific known cause such as drowning or injury.

“The awareness that it’s bringing to the actual disease itself is the bigger picture here,” she said. “It’s bringing greater awareness to this disease that, unfortunately, a lot of people have, but I don’t think most people talk about it.”

Nothing can fully replace the void in the players’ lives. But the Cowboys have committed to being there for each other as they navigate the loss of a friend much sooner than many people their age.

Sometimes, all they can do is reminisce.

“I will always remember how she lived, with love and kindness,” Dao said. “I will miss her laugh, our bonding over our favorite movies, and most of all, her hugs.

“Macy gave the absolute best hugs. She would run up to you at full speed and jump into your arms, bear hugging you with the tightest, most comforting squeeze. I would always spin us around a couple of times before letting her down. Sometimes now, I wish I had never let go. No one will ever be able to give hugs like Macy did.”

Maybe not. But they can try, and that’s what Livermore has done day by day – try to make the best of the challenge ahead.

“Every day is different in the grieving process, but we all know that we are here for each other whenever we need,” Dao said.

On the field, Livermore finished the regular season with a 9-5 record in the East Bay Athletic League, qualifying for the EBAL playoffs as the No. 4 seed. The Cowboys upset top seed Carondelet 14-2 in the semifinals, then beat second-seeded California 7-4.

That finish secured them the No. 2 seed in the North Coast Section Division I bracket. On Friday, they won their opening-round game against No. 7 Alameda, completing a dramatic two-out comeback from two runs down in the sixth inning to win 6-4.

Is it divine intervention? Maybe. What’s undeniably true is that Perez changed the lives of Livermore’s players, and they are carrying her memory forward every time they take the field.

“It showed that her spirit was felt on that field,” Sarah Perez said of the team’s light blue tribute.

In the Cowboys’ first two games after March 17, Norton threw back-to-back complete games, both Livermore wins, and received the game ball each time. After throwing a shutout on March 19, she wrote “Play for Macy” on her treasured keepsake.

On April 4, after a 10-0 win over Freedom, Norton wrote on X, “Adversity is inevitable. How you handle it defines you.”

Livermore’s season is defined by the Cowboys’ love for Perez. And that love is going to last beyond this year, whenever the final pitch is thrown.

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“I thought no one on the team, besides Kaci, would understand what we were going through,” Dao said. “But to see and listen to their stories of Macy opened my eyes. We bonded over Macy, and we celebrated her and how she lived her life.

“Kaci and I play for Macy every game and every practice. I used to play softball because I loved the sport, and it grew into playing so that I can get recruited in college. But now, I have a true reason to play. Macy is the reason I play. I play for her so that I can continue her story.”

Livermore will have at least one more opportunity to honor Perez this season. After losing Wednesday to No. 3 seed Casa Grande in the NCS Division I semifinals, the Cowboys will host Foothill in a third-place game Saturday at noon for the section’s final spot in the NorCal playoff bracket. And if you attend, you’re certain to see a bunch of blue ribbons out on the field.

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