Tiger baseball team assists with Challenger Games/MLB Play Ball event

Prior to taking the field as one of 10 teams at the JUCO World Series in Grand Junction, CO, members of the Cowley College baseball team had an opportunity to bring smiles to lots of young faces as they helped with the Challenger Games and the Major League Baseball Play Ball event.

Challenger Baseball is a division of Little League of America that provides the opportunity to play baseball to those with physical and cognitive special needs from the ages of 8 to 21 and who are enrolled in the school district. It is all volunteer based and relies on donations and sponsorships to help the program succeed. There are eight teams with 80 plus players and the season begins in April. The last game of the year was celebrated by having Tiger baseball players as buddies and has been a tradition since 2005.

"It's special for us to put our efforts into making it a memorable day for those individuals," Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs said. "I think our guys really benefit from it."
The Play Ball initiative is baseball's global effort to encourage young people and communities to engage in baseball- or softball-related activities, including formal leagues, special events and casual forms of play. Play Ball events have become MLB's signature youth engagement activity during the professional and amateur baseball and softball calendar, especially on key dates throughout MLB's Championship Season and through the World Series.

Play Ball events demonstrate the positive way the game can serve as an outlet for physical activity, fun with friends and learning how to play the sport at its most basic levels.

Cowley assistant coach Butch Rea, along with Tiger baseball players Isaac Stebens and David Herring helped with the event.

"It was a lot of fun," Stebens said. "Our main goal was to let them have fun and hang out with us."

Stebens and Herring not only helped with the drills, they stuck around to sign autographs for the Play Ball participants.

"They thought we were celebrities," Stebens said.

Herring echoed Stebens comments and hopes his efforts will make an impact on some of the more than 300 participants at the Play Ball event held at Sam Suplizio Field.

"I love teaching kids and being around them," Herring said. "I learned a lot from going to baseball camps as a kid, so I hope they learned something from us."