LAC LA BICHE - A group of Lac La Biche Dodgers minor ball players not only got to attend an Edmonton Riverhawks baseball game this summer, but they also mingled with the team, and a few of them were given the opportunity to help out on the field.
According to Heather Lett, the fundraising and volunteer director for the board of the Lac La Biche Minor Ball Association, 33 players-along with one coach, Cheryl Kuriatis, sat in the dugout during the July 27 contest between the Riverhawks and the visiting Wenatchee AppleSox.
Edmonton downed the AppleSox 4-2 as the two collegiate summer baseball teams in the West Coast League met at Remax Field for the afternoon ballgame.
Kuriatis was the game day guest coach, and spent the game with the Riverhawks coaches. Four of the Dodgers - Pyper Ray, Corbin Downes, Rowan Kumpala and Jake Semeniuk - served as ‘bat kids,’ where they assisted the summer collegiate players on the ball diamond.
“They would retrieve the ball after the batter hit… and they would collect any foul balls that came their way,” Lett told Lakeland This Week.
For Downes, a Lac La Biche Dodgers 13U baseball player, being a ‘bat kid’ for an afternoon was a great experience.
“I would do it again' it was fun,” he said. “And fun to do with a friend.”
This group of Lac La Biche minor ball players was able to attend the game, which was the final one of the regular season for the Edmonton Riverhawks, through the club’s Game Day Partner Program.
According to information from the Riverhawks, through this initiative, minor baseball, softball, and fastball associations can partner with the team for the opportunity to become ‘Minor League Ballers’ at a home game.
Lett stated that this day at the ballpark was also a fundraiser for the Lac La Biche Minor Ball Association.
The Edmonton Riverhawks, she explained, sold the Lac La Biche Minor Ball Association the tickets at a discounted rate. In turn, the local organization sold the tickets and profited the discount they were given by the Riverhawks.
“It’s a partnership that Riverhawks advertised so we emailed and got on board,” she said, adding that the minor ball association received a small proceed from each ticket sold.
Going to the Riverhawks game, Lett continued, was a great way to get the Lac La Biche Minor Ball Association out in a team building way that also brought good attention to the local community.
“My family had a blast, and we will definitely have this opportunity arranged for our players next year,” she said.