Home Run! USAFA baseball team visits patients at California hospital

  • Published
  • By U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
  • Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Falcon Baseball players took a detour during their spring road trip last month to visit patients at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Sacramento, Calif.

The team stopped by the hospital March 24 before competing in a warm-up series against the Sacramento State Hornets.

"The chance to visit the kids at Shriners Hospital was a great opportunity for the team," said head coach Mike Kazlausky. "We set-up a mock baseball field at the hospital and the cadets helped the kids swing and run the bases. The children and the cadets also had a "dance-off" competition which was fun to watch."

Patients took their turns at bat while ballpark music played in the background, said Penny Lees, a hospital official.

"The kids were excited when they found out that Falcon Baseball players were coming to see them," she said. "They're heroes in the eyes of our patients."

Falcon Baseball competed in Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas and Nevada before arriving in California.

For more on the Falcon Baseball program, see page 10 or visit www.goairforcefalcons.com.