O's scout playing in game this afternoon to honor mother with cancer

This afternoon's Single-A spring training game pitting Orioles farmhands against Red Sox minor leaguers at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota will provide a special memory for a member of the Orioles family and his mom.

Orioles scout Ryan Powell will again don a uniform to fulfill his cancer-stricken mother's wish of seeing him play in one more game. He is signing a one-day contract with the Orioles, allowing him to take the field in front of his family.

Wendy Powell was diagnosed with brain cancer in June 2015 and is currently undergoing treatment at Duke University in North Carolina and in Port St. Lucie, Fla. She worked as the associate human resources director at the University of Michigan for 23 years.

The Orioles have partnered with the Powells to unite the family and to raise funds for cancer research. Ryan Powell has received 14 custom-made Major League Baseball-certified Victus bats to use during today's game, each inscribed with his mother's initials and containing a special message from mother to son.

Powell, 30, scouts independent leagues for the Orioles. He played four seasons of independent ball as a catcher between 2008-12, and managed clubs in the Canadian-American League (2011) and Pecos League (2012). Among the colleges he played for was Coppin State in Baltimore.

The orange-and-silver ash bats will be autographed by Orioles players and auctioned to raise money for cancer-related charities.

One of the bats will be auctioned online at orioles.com/auctions to benefit Shannon's Fund, an endowment at the University of Maryland Medical Center dedicated to providing financial assistance to patients and their families. Shannon's Fund was established in 2008 by the Orioles and OriolesREACH in memory of Shannon Obaker, the club's former director of community relations who bravely fought cancer before passing away in 2007 at 29.