Kamloops dad-to-be hits home run with surprise marriage proposal

KAMLOOPS – A local couple celebrated two life events on the baseball diamond earlier this month.

Dylan Smith, 25, proposed to his girlfriend Jane Hainstock, 22, and found out the gender of their future child all in one at bat on Sunday, April 10.

“Everyone was crying, it was just the sweetest thing ever,” Hainstock says about the proposal. “It was a pretty crazy day.”

The Kamloops couple had planned for a unique gender reveal part at Centennial Park for family and friends, Smith says, but the proposal was secret to all but him and his mother.

Hainstock was set to pitch to Smith and when he hit the ball the gender would be revealed in a puff of blue or pink powder.

Before Hainstock could pitch the ball Smith's mother called a time out and grabbed a bouquet of flowers and the ring for him. He approached his girlfriend at the pitching mound and asked her to marry him, much to the shock of everyone waiting to find out the gender of their baby.

After she said yes, they finally let Hainstock throw the ball to Smith, and a blue cloud filled the homeplate area. 

“We went up to Toys-R-Us and bought a kids t-ball set,” Smith says in explaining how they executed the stunt. “We cut open one of those plastic balls open and my mom filled it with blue chalk.”

“I just got her to call into my doctor to find out, so we didn’t know until Sunday,” Hainstock adds.

Smith and Hainstock had also bet the child’s name on the at bat. Smith was certain they were going to have a girl, so Hainstock won the bet and now gets to choose the name of their baby boy.

The couple says they plan to get married next summer so their son can be the ringbearer.

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