Cheyenne Mountain baseball team honors Collier family Saturday

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Cheyenne Mountain baseball team hosted a ceremony Saturday to honor the Collier family, after a fatal car accident last October killed Steve Collier and his two sons, Mason and Josh.

Steve Collier coached at Wasson, Palmer and Widefield High School. He passed his love of the game on to his family, including his two sons Mason and Josh. Mason played for Palmer and Josh for Cheyenne Mountain.

On their way to the World Series in October 2020, they were killed in a car accident.

"It's been very hard. There's a lot of pain, and a lot of joy. A lot of celebration, and a lot of emptiness," wife Becky Collier said.

Josh's Cheyenne Mountain teammates wore patches on their uniforms Saturday with his initials. His mother Becky and his sister Emily were invited to throw out the first pitch before Cheyenne's home game.

"I haven't… I don't know why I hadn't done this before. My mom has come up to the field and hang out for a little while. I haven't, so this is my first time up here. Being able to see all the players and stuff, and being around all of them is just… there's no words," Emily said.

"Once you play baseball in the community for any period of time, you are part of a larger baseball family. There's a huge amount of comfort in that," Becky said.