Starting his baseball journey at four years old, graduate business administration pitcher Dawson Gabe has continuously found his home and community on the baseball field.
Gabe said he has always played as competitively as possible. According to UIndy Athletics, he began his collegiate baseball career at Baldwin Wallace University before transferring to the University of Indianapolis for his graduate studies. Since joining the Hounds in 2024, Gabe has pitched 57.1 innings with 62 strikeouts, according to his season statistics.
His passion for the game persisted all the way up until his last game on March 15. Being diagnosed with testicular cancer last fall threw a wrench in his plans, Gabe said, but it was nothing he was unable to play through. He said his first surgery in October removed the initial mass, and from there it was a “monitor game” to see if the cancer returned.
After finding out in February the cancer came back, Gabe knew he had a limited time left on the field. He threw his last pitch at Greyhound Park with his team ready to run out of the dugout to surround him.
“I didn’t want to come out of the game, I wanted to finish it myself,” Gabe said. “I’m really glad that I had the opportunity to do that. It wasn’t until I threw the last pitch and I saw Dom Brown [senior catcher] coming out to give me a hug to where I really started to feel the emotions, and that was really great.”
To show their support for Gabe, UIndy baseball held a “K-Out for Cancer” event on April 11. T-shirt sales, local food options and an MLB ticket giveaway were all available, and all proceeds went to support the Gabe family as the pitcher undergoes more treatment. Hundreds of students and community members came out to the field to watch the game against Truman State University, with Gabe in attendance.
“It gives the true meaning of Hounds supporting Hounds,” Head Coach Al Ready said in an address to the crowd. “Not only are we supporting the players on the field, but we’re here to support one of our players, Dawson Gabe, who had his season come to an end because of his battle with cancer.”
Throughout the year, UIndy baseball players and coaches have pinned lilac ribbons for testicular cancer awareness on their baseball caps, decorated their helmets with stickers and customized their cleats with the pop of color — all for Gabe. Being able to see the campus and community support at the K-Out Cancer event was moving for Ready.
“This is just a great event,” Ready said. “I’m very, very happy to see everybody. Thank you for coming.”
As for the future, Gabe said he is looking forward to recovering from his next surgery and hoping to stay in the sport. Falling in love with baseball and finding the friendship within it at a young age has been his support throughout his life, and now in his journey fighting cancer.
“My team has been an amazing rock for me,” Gabe said. “The support that they’ve shown me and the things that they’ve done for me over the course of my diagnosis and all my surgeries and whatnot, it’s really helped me mentally just get through this tough time.” To learn more information about Dawson Gabe and his battle with testicular cancer, or to donate, visit his GoFundMe link.
