Ramapo Baseball and Theta Phi Alpha hosted their yearly event, Home Run Derby, on Sunday Oct. 13. Both the baseball team and the sorority host this event every year in October to raise awareness for Breast Cancer in a fun community based way.
Head Coach Ryan Rinsky of the baseball team states in an interview with The Ramapo News, “For myself and the team, this event is very meaningful. My great-grandmother had breast cancer and the Susan G. Komen Foundation does a tremendous job in breast cancer research.” He says, “It is important to give back and donate to a great cause.”
The Home Run Derby started at 1 p.m. and was open to all students and families who wanted to come out and support both groups. Upon entry there was a five-dollar fee that was then donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the philanthropy project for Theta Phi Alpha.
Joined by the baseball team were three other sororities and the fraternity Alpha Phi Delta. All five Greek organizations went up against the baseball team. Each team had ten different members that were all given the opportunity to get up to bat and try to hit a homerun. There were eight teams competing for first place and were set up in three different rounds that teams needed to advance in to qualify for the finale.
This event is not only practice for the baseball players who are just kicking off prospect camp and their fall ball season, but acts as a way to connect with Greek Life on campus. New and old baseball players lined the field with each team to catch the home runs or hits that came from every participant.
Rinsky says, “This is an important event for the team because we all enjoy coming together as a group and doing something that is more important than baseball.”
Home runs for this event however were not in the typical sense at least for the sorority and fraternity participants. Participants were given five pitches to hit the ball past the grass portion of the baseball field and each hit that went into the dirt counted as a homerun.
However, the Baseball team had different rules and were expected to hit with their non-dominant side and were asked to hit past a set of orange cones that were set out six feet from the dirt area on the baseball field. As each player walked up to the plate, Ryan Lasko inside of the press box made play-by-play commentary, making jokes and fun at the players to provide a sense of joy and make the game more enjoyable.
When teams were not hitting on the field, there were rows of tables of activities that students and families could do on the blacktop there. From bracelet-making to food to hair extensions and temporary pink ribbon tattoos to even bra pong, a favorite of the sorority, each event helped the participants bide the time between the rounds.
After every round, the announcers would declare the home run leaderboard and the teams that were doing the best. The order for the first two rounds were Baseball Team 1, Baseball Team 2 then APD for third.
The home run amounts in order to qualify would increase each round and ended with Baseball Team 1 and APD battling for the win. In the end, APD and Baseball Team 1 were neck-to-neck each round with tied home runs. In the finale APD won despite Baseball Team 1 receiving one final home run made by William Kennedy, breaking the tie of 11 home runs.
At the end of the game, each of the Greek Life and Baseball team received a little goody bag full of gifts from Theta Phi Alpha for their participation in the Home Run Derby. Trophies were given out to the Team 1 of the Baseball team, and a photo was taken with Theta Phi Alpha to commemorate another successful year of raising money for the foundation.
President of the Theta Phi Alpha, Angelica Jablecki in an interview with The Ramapo News says, “This is one of our favorite events that we do every year and I recommend coming out and showing support for Breast Cancer awareness.”
Look out for Alumni day for the Baseball team and coming back and hopefully for better in the spring season.
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jenna Barnes
