By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A pair of wrap-around sunglasses hid his eyes, which were reddened from the sobbing.

Stephen Smitherman stood beside Joe Valentine and Brian Shackelford, their shoulders slouched, on the third baseline during a moment of silence Friday at Scottsdale Stadium.

Scottsdale Scorpions teammates of Dernell Stenson during a moment of silence honoring Stenson at the Scorpions' game Friday. (Jack Kurtz/Arizona Republic) | ZOOM |

Smitherman outstretched his muscular arms and embraced those friends linked to a tragedy by the very Cincinnati Reds uniforms on their backs.

Behind them, hanging in the Scottsdale Scorpions dugout, was another Reds jersey.

No. 63.

Three days have passed since police in Chandler, Ariz., discovered the dead body of Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson, who had been shot and run over with his own car.

"It's not even about baseball right now," Smitherman said. "It's about not letting the situation itself bring you down as a person, because Dernell wouldn't want you to be that way."

The first Arizona Fall League game since Stenson's death early Wednesday - a 7-2 win against Peoria at Scottsdale Stadium - provided insight into who Stenson was as a player and friend, the final hours of his life and the grief that has stricken those in the wake of his death.

The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at the First Baptist Church on the Square in LaGrange, Ga., where Stenson was born and still resided.

"Something is going to be done, because justice is going to prevail regardless," Smitherman said. "Regardless of whether it's in this life or another."

Chandler police have a good idea who was involved in the death of the 25-year-old, who played in 37 games with the Reds last season and was one of the AFL's leading hitters.

They have arrested two men and are searching for a third, 20-year-old David Griffith, who is considered armed and dangerous.

Reginald Riddle, 19, was arrested late Thursday and was being held on charges of homicide, armed robbery and kidnapping.

"It's obviously something that nobody is ever prepared for," said Scottsdale manager Rick Burleson, who managed Triple-A Louisville at the end of last season. "It wouldn't be any less significant if it was a car accident or something like that.

"But the way it happened, for me that's a big tragedy. Why bad things sometimes happen to good people, I don't think anybody will ever know."

Burleson first received word that Stenson was missing at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Two hours passed before Burleson and the rest of his team learned of Stenson's death.

"The detectives came (into the clubhouse) with some photos of Dernell," Burleson said. "He was positively identified as the individual who had passed away.

"That's about the time the team had to be dressed. We went in and addressed the team at that time. It was then decided the games would be called for that night. We wouldn't have been able to play with the way the players reacted."

Authorities found no identification on Stenson at the crime scene but found his name on registration papers inside his black 2002 Isuzu Rodeo.

Kevin Riddle, 43, was driving the car when Mesa police pulled him over two hours after the killing. He was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of stolen property. He was booked into a Maricopa County jail and was being held on $10,080 bond.

"It just makes you think twice about even getting in your car or driving somewhere," said Reds catcher Dane Sardinha, who along with Smitherman started against Peoria. "I have a hard time going to sleep now, because I don't know if somebody is going to come in my house and do something like that."

Stenson had last been seen late Tuesday at Sugar Daddy's, a Scottsdale bar frequented by Arizona Fall League players.

Valentine, Shackelford and Reds pitcher David Gil saw Stenson alone at the bar around 11:30 p.m.

"We were walking outside to the patio and he said he'd see us back there," Valentine said. "But we didn't see him.

"We didn't get a goodbye, which was definitely unusual. If he was leaving before us or after us, he would always make sure he would come up and say goodbye. That night, we didn't think anything

of it."

Among the first outside the Scorpions clubhouse to learn of Stenson's death was Scottsdale fan Susan Price.

The Chandler resident, who attends almost every Scorpions game, had just dropped off her weekly batch of brownies and cookies to the Scottsdale clubhouse when Scorpions pitcher Michael Gallo approached her and told her the news.

Two days earlier, Price had missed the Scorpions game because she was sick. On Tuesday, Stenson approached her.

"Dernell made a point of saying, 'We missed you. Are you feeling better?' " Price said. "That made me feel good. I'm just a fan, and he didn't have to do that.

"He went out of his way to make me feel good, and he succeeded."

Monday's Scorpions game is likely to be canceled for the funeral. Several players are expected to attend.

At that time, they will present Stenson's mother with her son's bat. Scottsdale players used the bat during their first at-bats Friday.

"All we have now are memories of being with him," said Scottsdale bench coach Garey Ingram, who roomed with Stenson while both played in the Red Sox farm system during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.

"It's just a bad thing, bad timing. He's always going to be in our hearts. I just hope they find out who's done this."

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E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com