On behalf of Take ALS Yard and The Gettysburg Baseball Team, I would like to formally announce the end of our 2019 – 2020 fundraising campaign. Although this year brought about a truly unprecedented event, we still prevailed in our efforts. Our fundraising campaign this year was highlighted by our 1st ever 3-ON-3 Basketball Tournament, hat & t-shirt sales, online donations, and private donations. In total, we were able to raise nearly $10,000 this year, bringing our program total to $80,000. The continued dedication to the program has put us well on our way to our $100,000 goal.
This year has been specifically unusual because we were unable to host our ‘Take ALS Yard Day’ for the first time since 2014. This special day has become a tradition, acting as a great way to raise awareness and show our support to those directly involved in the fight against Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Our team usually hosts members from Project ALS, the Kirchhoff Family and the Borman Family.
Here are some pictures from previous years of Take ALS Yard Day:
The relentless support in the wake of the pandemic is evidence of just how important this program is. Firstly, I would like to thank the entire Gettysburg Baseball Community for their continued backing of the program. It is incredible to see how large of an impact our program has had on such a meaningful cause. Secondly, the internal support from the players and coaches has been tremendous. The fundraising would not have been possible without each and every one of them. Of course, this program would be nowhere without the persistent leadership of Coach Campo. His dedication to the Take ALS Yard program is truly remarkable. Lastly, I would like to thank both the Kirchhoff and Borman family for their ongoing participation and support of the Take ALS Yard Program.
Although we finished only a fraction of our season, the Bullets got off to a hot start. Over our first eight games, the team’s batting average stood at (.430), slugging average (.656), and on-base average (.483). As a team, we hit a total of 11 home runs in these eight games. This record falls second to the 17 home runs in the season of 2017, (41 games) over the last decade. Even though we will never know what the 2020 season could have been, we have set solid ground work for next year. The returning guys have some unfinished business to take care of.
I would as well like to mention some individual achievements and milestones for this season. Sean Murphy (’21) was able to achieve the milestone of 100 career hits in his first plate appearance of our Florida campaign. Both Joe Giovinco (’20) and Matt Szczesny (’21) were presented with the honor of being Centennial Conference Players of the Week. Matt Szeczesny was also presented the honor of appearing on D3baseball.com’s team of the week. Senior Dom Gasparro was presented with the Centennial Conference Sportsmanship Award. Tyler Carmolingo (’22), Tim Fay (’22), Shane Manieri (’22) and Matt Szczesny (’21) were presented Centennial Conference Spring Academic Honors. Lastly, the entire team was presented the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award for the spring semester. Great work in the Zoom classroom, gentlemen.
Shoutout to my senior guys: Ryan Augustus, Dom Gasparro, Joe Giovinco, Ryan LaCoe and Jack Havard. For all of the time they have put into Take ALS Yard over the years.
It was an honor to serve as the Take ALS Yard chairman this year. I cannot believe how successful our effort was, given the circumstances. The challenges that we have faced this year will only make the program stronger. Thank you to everyone who participated this year. Now officially marks the beginning of the 2020 – 2021 campaign. If you would like to make a donation, you can visit our fundraising page here. Once again, thank you to everyone for a great year, GO BULLETS, and let’s continue to Take ALS Yard!
With gratitude,
John Braun (’20)
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Great job John, Coach Campo and the Gettysburg baseball family. Sure you will keep up the great work.