The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Softball To Take Part In Children's Cancer Benefit Saturday
10/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oct. 26, 2007
Read Friday's article from the Birmingham News
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB softball team will take part in the third-annual "Knocking Cancer out of the Ballpark" tournament Saturday, which benefits the Children's Hospital fight against childhood cancer.
Gates for the event will open at 10 a.m. with the opening ceremony beginning at 10:45 a.m. Ceremonial first pitches will be thrown out at 11 a.m. by, multiple patients from the Children's Hospital in Birmingham.
This will be the first year that the Blazers have participated in the event. Last year's tournament raised over $40,000 last year, and head coach Marla Townsend praised the event for its contributions to the Children's Hospital.
"Sometimes there are bigger things than softball," Townsend said. "I can't think of anything better than raising funds for such a fantastic cause. This is a wonderful event and we are happy to be a part of it."
The benefit tournament was founded by Bruce and Anne Long for their son Andrew in 2005. On Sept. 20 Andrew died at the age of eight after a three-year battle with cancer.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to the UAB Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Research Program at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. Donations will be accepted at the entrance and there will also be t-shirts for sale.
Now in its third year, "Knockin' Cancer out of the Ballpark" has raised a total of $53,000 for brain tumor research at Children's Hospital.
A fun zone featuring games and activities will be on-site, as well as Hand-In-Paw, an animal therapy team. The Children's Hospital Clown Troop will be performing at the event. The fun zone opens at 10 a.m.
The Blazers will play their final two games of the fall schedule against UAH at 12:15 p.m. and Samford at 1:30 p.m during the tournament. Both games will be played at the Joe Lee Griffin Stadium on Samford's campus.
"These two games are going to gives us an opportunity to see the improvements we have made individually," Townsend said. "This is really just a chance to get a few more games in this fall."
