Heartbreaking reason kid who got Carlos Correa's HR ball was sitting in that seat

PHOTOS: A look at the big play in Game 2 and photos of Cade Riley, who died a month before his family's brush with fame Carson Riley (left) his mother Amanda and dad Mike react to Carlos Correa's home run that Carson nearly caught in front of Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle ) Browse through the photos above for a look at the home run as well as photos of Cade Riley, who passed away a month before his brother's brush with fame. less PHOTOS: A look at the big play in Game 2 and photos of Cade Riley, who died a month before his family's brush with fame Carson Riley (left) his mother Amanda and dad Mike react to Carlos Correa's home run that ... more Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Photo: Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Heartbreaking reason kid who got Carlos Correa's HR ball was sitting in that seat 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

When Amanda Riley arrived at Minute Maid Park for Game 1 of the Astros-Yankees American League Championship Series, she couldn't contain her tears.

"We walk in, and all I'm seeing are families and dads holding their sons up," Riley said. "The whole time all I could think about was that we're there as a family, too, but we're missing one."

Four weeks earlier, 15-year-old Cade Riley - Amanda and Mike Riley's oldest son - died in an all-terrain vehicle accident on a trail near the family's home in Liberty Hill.

Since then, Amanda, Mike and their son Carson had trouble finding the motivation to leave the house as a family.

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Mike knew it was time, and he made a decision that put his family directly in the path of a crucial Carlos Correa home run and made their youngest son the center of media attention and the object of Astros players' affection.

When Carson and his dad were watching Game 5 of the Indians-Yankees series last week, Mike realized if the Yankees advanced, that meant the first two games of the ALCS would be in Houston on Friday and Saturday and that would give the still-grieving family an excuse for a short vacation to Houston to watch some baseball.

"It was the first time me or Carson ever rooted for the Yankees, I can promise you that," Mike said.

THE MOMENT: Meet the 12-year-old fan who came away with Carlos Correa's home run ball

When the Yankees won, Mike and Carson celebrated. Amanda wasn't so sure.

"It was going to be almost exactly a month since Cade's passing, but they were really wanting to go and I was not," Amanda said. "I felt like I would want to be at home because it was hard to get out of the house and Cade not be with us."

After a family discussion, Mike was able to get tickets near the third-base line for Friday's Game 1, and tickets on the front row in right field for Game 2.

Amanda was overcome with emotion when she walked into the stadium Friday, but once she settled in, it seemed everywhere she looked, there was a sign.

When the Yankees were up to bat, directly in front of the Rileys' seats stood third-base coach Joe Espada, who wears No. 53 on the back of his jersey. That's the same number Cade wore for the Liberty Hill High School football team. Then, when the Astros needed five big outs, the Astros turned to closer Ken Giles, who after making the final batter whiff, banged his fist against his chest three times, then turned his back to the third-base side of the stadium to reveal his jersey number - 53.

Back at the hotel that night, the family casually talked about the eeriness of No. 53 playing a prominent role in their first outing together since losing Cade, but they were stunned with what they saw when they arrived at the ballpark a day later.

When they approached their spot in the front row, there were two young boys who appeared to be brothers standing near the Rileys' seats. They both had baseball hats with their names stitched on the side. Cade. Carson. It was a take-your-breath-away moment. It stopped the family in their tracks enough that Amanda pulled out her camera and snapped a picture.

"I just started crying," Amanda said. "What are the odds? Two boys standing right where we're supposed to be sitting. Side-by-side. Cade and Carson. Cade was the reason we were there. We were trying to get away. It was a good feeling, but it made me miss Cade a lot."

In several trips to Houston to catch Astros games and even more frequent trips to watch the Round Rock Express closer to home, Carson had never caught a ball. Before Saturday's game, it felt like players on the field were drawn to him. His throwback Astros rainbow jersey caught the eye of several players, and the Astros' Jose Altuve and Lance McCullers and the Yankees' Chase Headley all tossed Carson a ball during batting practice.

Then, before the bottom of the fourth inning, Yankees rightfielder Aaron Judge threw a ball to Carson after the outfielders were done warming up.

Minutes later, Carson and Judge came face-to-face again.

When Correa ripped a line drive to right, Carson rose to his feet and stuck out his glove as Judge raced toward him. The ball glanced off Carson's glove and rolled into Amanda's lap and landed at Mike's feet.

Judge looked up at Carson and nodded at him as if to assure him that he did nothing wrong, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi asked for the play to be reviewed to see if Carson had reached over the wall and interfered with the play. After review, the ruling on the field stood - home run and a 1-0 Astros lead. All that was left was a crush of media reporters rushing to the front row of Section 152 to interview the ballpark's newest celebrity.

Another sign, Amanda insists.

"Just the way the ball physically touched each one of us," Amanda said. "It hit Carson's glove, rolled around in my lap, and then hit Mike's feet. And, the fact that it was Aaron Judge. Cade and Carson both loved baseball, and they were competitive with each other. They both had their players, and they would argue over whose player was better. Cade really liked Aaron Judge, and that was one of his players he always argued was the best."

Mike is the more stoic parent. He went back to his job as an electrical contractor a week after Cade's death, but now back at his home in Liberty Hill days after the Astros trip, even he can't get over the apparent signs from their lost son the entire weekend.

"I think at first - even up until (Sunday) - I was kind of writing it all off, honestly," Mike said. "But I've watched that play at least 20 times today, and that ball came straight toward Carson. If you drew a string on the path that ball took, I promise you that ball did not move three or four feet from the path where Carson was standing. That ball went straight to him. We've hung on to our faith through all of this, and we think that God has a much bigger plan for Cade even after death. As hard as this is to say or even explain - and I wish I had a scientific answer for you or something better - but we just feel like this is still part of God's plan."

Besides the profound feeling that Cade somehow had something to do with their wild weekend, they also laughed the whole way home. While Carson was shy when approached by a throng of reporters shortly after he grabbed Correa's home run ball, they couldn't help but chuckle when thinking about how Cade would have handled the situation.

"You know how Carson kind of got quiet when you all were asking him questions right after the home run?," Mike said. "If that had happened to Cade, you wouldn't have had enough cameras. There wouldn't have been enough reporters for him to talk to."

More than 1,200 people attended Cade's funeral in Liberty Hill last month, and the central Texas town has adopted the entire Riley family. Carson, who plays second base on a competitive select travel team, has been embraced by the high school baseball team with players telling the family they'll be his older brothers now.

Carson also has some fans back in Houston.

After Saturday's win, Correa told the New York Times that Carson is his "favorite fan" and that he'd like to give him a bat or something.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch echoed the sentiment in the postgame press conference: "I love that kid. I want to leave that kid tickets."

The Rileys hadn't heard those comments until they got home, but they feel like they left Houston with everything they needed.

"All the signs showed us we were right where Cade wanted us to be," Amanda said. "The whole experience from the No. 53 on Friday night to the two kids near our seats to the players throwing balls to Carson, to the home run, it felt like Cade was telling us, 'I'm good. Focus on Carson and have a good time.'"