“For a short while, baseball players from rival schools the University of Akron and Kent State University came together for a common cause. Players from both teams visited sick children Monday afternoon at Akron Children’s Hospital in order to promote the upcoming Diamond Classic for Kids game at Canal Park on Wednesday April 16 at 6 p.”
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For a short while, baseball players from rival schools the University of Akron and Kent State University came together for a common cause.
Players from both teams visited sick children Monday afternoon at Akron Children’s Hospital in order to promote the upcoming Diamond Classic for Kids game at Canal Park on Wednesday April 16 at 6 p.m. Proceeds from the game will go to Akron Children’s Hospital.
Zips head coach Pat Bangtson said that the idea came together between both him and Kent State’s head coach Scott Stricklin.
It was both Coach Strickland and myself; he approached with the idea about three years ago, he said. He had done that at Georgia Tech when he was an assistant coach there.
Bangtson made sure to point out that the trip was all on a voluntary basis.
Our kids do a lot of things. Whether it’s going out and doing things at the local grade schools, or going down to the hospital. There are a lot of things that are kids do and they give back to the community, he said.
While players from both teams were only together for a short time, they made time for innocent jabbing at the rival school.
Can’t read. Can’t write. Can’t put a clock together, one Akron player said to a Kent player.
The teams then split up to see as many children as possible.
Akron players visited children in the Adolescence wing and the Cancer and Blood Disorders wing.
When entering the Cancer and Blood Disorders wing, UA pitcher Tom Farmer said that he had hoped they would not get this wing.
It’s a tough place to go see, he said. There’s not a whole lot you can do to help them. I know they enjoyed us being in there, but it’s just a tough part of the hospital.
Which is exactly why Bangtson brings his players down here.
Baseball doesn’t mean a hill of beans when comes to taking care of these kids, Bangtson said.
Pitcher Frank Turocy said what he gets out of these trips the most is seeing these kids.
Getting to walk in and talk to people, seeing the look on their face is a very important thing, he said.
Brian Hollingsworth, donor relation’s coordinator for Children’s Hospital, said that even though the hospital is not the happiest place, the children enjoy these visits.
There is a lot of sickness and pain here, but there is also a lot of hope, he said. This helps to break up their day and it helps to brighten their lives.
Farmer said this is a great way to give back.
It’s nice as a team to give back to the community, Farmer said. Athletes actually do care.
Farmer also reflected one his first trip to the hospital this last year.
It was definitely a shock. I didn’t know exactly what to expect last year, he said. We went and visited toddlers who had cancer.
But when asked what his hopes for the game were he took a lighter approach.
As long as ticket sales are up, then I don’t care how many people show up, he joked.
Though they often oppose each other on the field, both teams agreed that the most important thing was raising money for the hospital.
The most important thing is the money that eventually gets donated through the game to children’s hospital, Turocy said. I know its going to go along way to help them.
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” #1.1361079:3441794694.jpg:NEW charity hospital pic3.jpg:UA baseball players (from left) Tom Farmer, Ryne Romick, Bobby Simone, Nick Solitario, Doug McNulty, Frank Turocy and Zippy visited patients Monday at Children’s Hospital. :COURTSEY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON ATHLETICS”