CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Lee University baseball will wrap up the regular season with the celebration of the 13th annual Military Appreciation Day on Saturday beginning at 12:15 p.m. EDT. A key GSC doubleheader with rival Trevecca Nazarene University will follow at 1 and 4 p.m.
"When we began the Military Appreciation Day event 13 years ago, I cannot fathom what it has become," said Mark Brew, head coach of the Flames. "It is a staple event in the community and one of the ways we are honored to participate. We want to honor these true heroes in our community by setting aside a time to say thanks for their service. It will be a great day of patriotism, fun activities at the ballpark and some great baseball."
Brew added, "Our Military Appreciation Day has two goals: to honor the service of the men and women in our community, and to raise funds for a veteran's need in our community. Please join us as we welcome and honor these true heroes of the United States Armed Forces – We Salute You."
State Representative Kevin Raper will welcome those in attendance and offer praise for the veterans. One of the highlights of the day will be recognizing the veterans by branch of service with the Armed Forces Medley. Each member of the military will be asked to stand and be recognized when they hear their branch of service theme song. The armed forces medley will be performed by the Voices of Lee under the direction of Danny Murray.
The Color Guard from the Bradley Central High School JROTC under the direction of First Sergeant Mark Williams will present the colors and The Voices of Lee will perform the National Anthem.
Mr. Robert "Bob" Frederick will throw the ceremonial first pitch. Bob joined the Air Force after high school. He served in both the Vietnam and Korean Wars. After 20 years he honorably retired as a Master Sergeant. He worked for the US Postal Service for 20 years. He currently resides at the Tennessee State Veterans' Home in Cleveland. He is 91 years old!
Flames in Four-Way Tie for Fifth Place
For the first time in several years the Flames and Trojans will not only be tangling at the same conference but there is even more. The series winner could own fifth place heading into the GSC tournament, or the loser might be in real trouble. While Lee and Trevecca are clashing in the three-game series, the University of West Alabama will be at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and the University of Montevallo faces Auburn Montgomery University . All four teams stand at 15-15 in the league standings. Union University is seeking to grab one of the eight tourney spots away from the four teams, hosting Christian Brothers University and standing at 14-15. There will be plenty of scoreboard watching this weekend.
The Flames, who own a 39-13 win-loss record over the Trojans, but during the last four meetings each team has won a pair. Trevecca and West Alabama are the hottest clubs coming into the weekend series, both have won five straight. Lee has dropped six consecutive starts.
"It is a big weekend for both teams. Trevecca will bring a hot team to town," remarked coach Brew, who is a former player and assistant coach at Trevecca. "It is what you play for, the opportunity to have meaningful games late in season and we are excited about the opportunity."
The Flames features the hitting of Luke Collier and JJ Williams. Collier has been above .400 all season and stands at .401 with a team-leading 77 hits. Williams is hitting .333 with and paces the club with 47 runs, 15 doubles, 9 homers and 38 RBI.
The Trojans fire back with Cole McCallum. He is batting .379 and paces the team with 17 doubles. However, it has been Joey Parliament doing major damage. He is a leader in six different categories, at bats 170, runs 49, hits 64, home runs 13, runs batted in 38, slugging percentage .653 and is tied for walks 15 and on-base percentage .435.
