Seminole High baseball player Andrew Mills wanted one throw to mean something.
He stepped on to the mound at Tropicana Field, ready to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Tampa Bay Rays game against the Houston Astros. He wanted to prove he was ready to play next season.
Mills sustained a severe injury that, at one point, he thought could have ended his career.
“It was crazy when that all happened," Mills said, "and to be honest its hard to describe what it's like to have been shot other than it's very painful."
On March 2, Mills was at a friend's house relaxing after a baseball practice. That afternoon, his friend was showing him a .22 caliber rifle.
The trigger went off.
“While I was freaking out, everyone was trying to keep me calm and be supportive," Mills said, recalling the moment the bullet pierced his stomach. "I heard when it got around the school, everyone was just scared and shocked.”
Mills, a rising sophomore, spent two and a half weeks in the hospital. Every day, friends, teammates and coaches came by. Doctors told him he'd make a full recovery in three months.
While in the hospital, his coaching staff reached out to the Rays. Mills' phone rang days later.
It was his favorite pitcher, David Price.
“David told me to just keep on fighting and one of these days we could play catch when I got better," Mills said. "The best thing about talking to him was he was able to relate to me, because he lost friends in accident situations as well.”
Although not able to play the rest of the season, Mills returned to the team. There, he focused on rebuilding his strength and preparing for the long road back to baseball.
“The hardest part of my recovery was getting out of bed," Mills recalled. "Since my stomach was so sore, I just could barely get up and walk around, let alone trying to sit up at times was painful. Rehab, at times, was tough as well."
It was at the Warhawks baseball banquet that he, and the rest of his team, got a big surprise.
"Coach (Jeff Pincus) got up and said that he had been delivered some exciting news," Mills said. "I would be throwing out the first pitch and the team would get to sing 'Take me out to the ball game' during the seventh inning. I just couldn’t believe it but at the same time very excited”
After a month of waiting, he would get his moment to shine, as Price stood behind home plate to catch the pitch that made him a standout during the regular season his freshman year.
"All I wanted to do was throw a strike, that’s what kept going through my mind," Mills said. "I will admit, it was really tough to stay focused. I threw it right down the middle and when he (Price) caught it and everyone started cheering, I knew I did it.”