Navy dad surprises daughter when she throws first pitch at Charlotte Knights game

Philip Elmore, a gunner's mate 1st Class in the U.S. Navy, hadn't seen his daughter since October.

Not wanting to miss 8-year-old Isabella's First Communion last weekend, the 27-year veteran decided to fly home from Sembach, Germany and surprise her.

To make his return even more memorable, he decided to do so in disguise.

On Friday night, young Isabella threw the first pitch for the hometown team, the Charlotte Knights.

Before she lobbed the ball over the plate, a recorded message from her stationed father appeared on the video board.

"Okay, Isabella, all you do is aim for the catcher. Try to knock him down and I'll see you real soon," Elmore said in the video.

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Isabella didn't know that her father was standing in front of her, dressed as a catcher.

When Elmore finally lifted his mask, all Isabella could say was "Daddy?"

Watch the emotional surprise in the video above.

"It’s awesome," Elmore said while holding his daughter in his arms on the field. "(One of the) top three (moments) in my life."

"(Elmore) reached out to our organization a while back and we were able to put this together," Dan Rajkowski, COO of the Charlotte Knights, told My FOX Carolinas. "It's really a special moment to see a dad, and he hasn't seen his daughter since October. This is kind of a neat thing to do."

Isabella's review of her surprise: "It was really cool."