Seneca Valley graduate and Atlanta Braves catcher Kevan Smith, holds his son while surrounded by other family members near the plate at PNC Park following a Braves-Pirates game last week.

PITTSBURGH — It took six seasons and donning the uniform of a fourth major league team to make it happen.

But Seneca Valley graduate Kevan Smith has finally played in a big league game at PNC Park.

Smith, 33, a backup catcher with the Atlanta Braves, was in the starting lineup for the middle game of a three-game series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh last week.

“It's amazing that it took this long,” Smith said of playing at PNC. “All of those other years, the schedule never worked out for my team to play there.

“Whenever we played the Pirates in a season, it was always at home.”

While Smith had not played baseball in this area since suiting up for the Butler BlueSox in 2010, people have not forgotten him. He said he left more than 100 tickets for family and friends that (July 6) game he started.

“I knew I'd be starting that night, so that's the game I alerted my family about,” he said. “Besides those 100 tickets I left, another 150 people or so came down to support me.

“I'd be up at bat and could hear fans chanting my name. That's a strange thing when you're on the road. I really appreciated everyone being there.”

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