How Arkansas baseball's Michael Turner paid tribute while playing through pain of Granny M's death

Michael Turner's family was all set to go to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to watch him and Arkansas baseball in the NCAA Tournament regional. Turner had just finished a strong regular season as the Razorbacks' catcher after transferring from Kent State. 

Turner's father, Brian, was to come down from his home outside of Cleveland. Turner's sister, Megan, would be there too, having just finished her junior season playing softball for Youngstown State. Christy, Michael's mother, would make the trip from Greensboro, North Carolina.

But the night before the family was to leave for the regional, they got an unexpected phone call. Christy's mother, Cindy Morton, had died.

Turner's parents almost didn't tell him at first. It was Wednesday, and Arkansas was to play Grand Canyon on Friday. But Turner's dad said he'd rather Michael hear it from his family directly than through social media somehow. He made the call to his son to tell him "Granny M" had died.

"It was terrible," Turner's dad said. "He didn't know if he should come to the funeral. I told him, 'Absolutely not. Granny M would never want you to miss your games for her."

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Turner's dad said his mother-in-law's "whole life was her grandkids." When Michael and Megan had big baseball or softball games, Granny M would make the drive from North Carolina to Ohio, stay with the Turners for a week or two, and watch them play. Even two weeks before she died, she had traveled to see another grandchild graduate. 

With the funeral in North Carolina, Turner's family wouldn't be able to make such a trip for the regional. But Turner's sister, Megan, decided to make the trip to Stillwater after all. Turner's dad said she wanted her brother to have someone there to support him.

Before he took the field in Arkansas' first game against Grand Canyon, Turner added a personal touch to his uniform with his grandmother in mind. He scrawled a pair of letters on the athletic tape on the inside of his left wrist: "GM" for Granny M.

Hundreds of miles away in North Carolina, Turner's dad was worried about his son. It wasn't the first time he had missed one of Turner's games. As a postal worker in northeast Ohio, he can't make trips to Fayetteville every weekend.

But this was the NCAA Tournament in Turner's final year of college baseball, and he was playing through grief and shock that few others could see while his family laid his grandmother to rest. 

Against Grand Canyon, Turner went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in Arkansas' 7-1 win. He didn't stop there.

Turner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Stillwater Regional after going 8-for-18 with two walks, two home runs and nine RBIs in four games. With Granny M in his mind and represented on his wrist, Turner had one of the best baseball weekends of his college career.

"It’s unbelievable," Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said after the regional win. "I’ve always said catching is the best position on the field. You’re the only one facing the whole field, and you’re involved in every play. You’ve got to have special people back there if you’re going to have a good team."

Turner's stellar weekend helped send Arkansas to the Chapel Hill Super Regional. When his dad heard the Razorbacks' destination for supers, he was stunned. Chapel Hill is less than an hour drive from Greensboro.

He said at least 15 family members and friends were in attendance to watch Turner play at UNC. Turner was 3-for-9 as Arkansas beat the Tar Heels in two games to advance to the College World Series.

Turner and his family celebrated, but in the midst of grief, it was bittersweet.

"It's very hard," his dad said. "It's like an all-time low and then an all-time high within one day, and then back down to low."

The Turner family will be in attendance at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, to watch their favorite catcher in his first College World Series when Arkansas faces Stanford on Saturday (1 p.m. CT, ESPN). 

No matter what happens, Turner's family is proud. He's made a mark on Arkansas baseball: Entering the College World Series, Turner owns the best single-season batting average (.311) of any starting catcher under Van Horn. Turner's dad knows Granny M would be proud, too.

"She would just be grinning from ear to ear," he said. "We're going to miss her. No doubt about it."

Christina Long covers the Arkansas Razorbacks. You can email her at clong@swtimes.com or follow her on Twitter @christinalong00.