by Zack Peñalva, Sports Editor

This month, the baseball team is planning two events that will hope to bring the Asbury community to the stands. Senior Day on April 22 will give fans the chance to show their support for the seven members of the team playing their final season. Later that week, the joint Campus/First Responder Night will be all about showing appreciation to students and faculty, as well as honoring local firefighters and paramedics.

The ideas come from head baseball coach Manny Cervantes. “I know everybody’s busy,” Cervantes said, “but if [the campus] could come out for a couple things, just to support the guys…a lot of people don’t see all the behind the scenes work and effort those guys put in.”

The team’s hope is that the conscious effort to engage with the campus will attract more students to cheer on the team. On top of that is the hope to show some appreciation to the community’s first responders.

“I hear the sirens going and all that,” Cervantes said, “I thought it would be a fun thing to honor those guys…Other schools have done something similar and I thought it would be a cool thing to do.” First responders will be honored before the game and they will also be invited to throw out the first pitch.

For the fans, Cervantes knew that one of the best ways to student’s hearts is through their stomach. “I’ve already hit up our Athletic Director [Mark Perdue] to [grill],” Cervantes said. “I usually buy all the supplies get it ready for him.”

At senior day, seven members of the Baseball team will be recognized. Brenden Wells, Landon Skaggs, Matt Cohick, Bryce Anderson, Christian Vain, Connor Bryne and Joey Johnson are all set to complete their final collegiate season. While some have transferred into Asbury within the past four years, Wells, Skaggs, Bryne and Johnson have all been at Asbury since 2013.

That time commitment is something their coach hopes fans can appreciate. “That’s a lot of dedication from those guys,” Cervantes said. “We ask our guys to do a lot and there are a lot of things that if you’re not involved in an athletic program, other students don’t have to do.”

Seniors will be formally recognized in an on-field program before the game against West Virginia Tech, and family members will be invited out to throw the opening pitch to their player. “We’ve done a couple of things internally in the team throughout the year, but this is the big event,” Cervantes said. “Their commitment is a big thing…it would be nice to hopefully see some stands full.”

Senior Day is scheduled for April 22 and the festivities will start before the 1 p.m. game. Campus/First Responder Night will take place on April 25. Firefighters and paramedics will be honored before the game begins at 5 p.m., with food being provided throughout the evening. For any schedule changes due to weather, updates can be found by following @AsburyBaseball on Twitter.