{"id":59301,"date":"2025-07-21T17:02:33","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T21:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=59301"},"modified":"2025-07-21T17:59:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T21:59:06","slug":"take-us-out-to-the-ballgame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/take-us-out-to-the-ballgame\/","title":{"rendered":"Take us out to the ballgame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Baseball fans, 91短视频 families and friends pack ballpark for third annual 91短视频 Night with the Turks<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Seventeen days after retiring from a 34-year career at 91短视频, Bonnie Bowser<\/strong> was out and about at the local ballpark on Thursday evening, catching up with campus coworkers, sporting her 91短视频 ALUMNI <\/em>cap, and excited to cheer on the home-team Harrisonburg Turks baseball squad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bowser, former circulation & office manager for the Sadie Hartzler Library, and her husband, Henry, were among more than 70 91短视频 supporters who turned out at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg for the third annual 91短视频 Night with the Turks baseball game. For her, the main draw was seeing familiar faces from the 91短视频 community, more than the game itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese people are my family,\u201d she said, pointing to the others around her, decked out in 91短视频 colors. \u201cThey\u2019ve been family for 34 years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n 91短视频 Night with the Turks is a popular event for fans of America\u2019s pastime and 91短视频 Royals of all ages to enjoy a summer evening at the ballpark, cheer on the home team, and show their Royal pride. Those who wore 91短视频 apparel were granted free admission for the game. The first 50 fans who bought popcorn from the concession stand received it in a collectible 91短视频 bucket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Turks are part of the 12-team Valley Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league that features players from across the country. Thursday\u2019s game featured a matchup between two South Division powerhouses: the first-place Turks and second-place Staunton Braves. The Turks got off to a quick start, scoring four runs in the first inning and three more over the next three frames. The Braves came roaring back with four runs but fell short, as the Turks won 7-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An 91短视频 alumnus who regularly attends Turks games, Brian Enedy \u201902, <\/strong>who earned a degree in recreation leadership and sports studies, appreciated the plentiful scoring and said Harrisonburg had a good shot at securing the top seed in the upcoming playoffs. \u201cIt\u2019s fun to come out and watch the players from different schools,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know, some of them might make it to the major leagues someday, and you can say, \u2018I saw them play here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Channeling her inner softball slinger, 91短视频\u2019s new interim president Rev. Dr. Shannon W. Dycus<\/strong> threw out the ceremonial first pitch, uncorking an arcing toss described by the announcer as an \u201cunderhand curve.\u201d The pitch ambled across the plate right on target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout the game, 91短视频\u2019s mascot, Herm, and the Turks mascot, Gill, greeted fans and friends in the stands, competed in a footrace\u2014Gill eked out the win by a beak\u2019s length\u2014and spread positivity and good sportsmanship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staff members from 91短视频\u2019s marketing and communications department threw hats and fired shirts into the crowd, using a T-shirt cannon designed by 91短视频 engineering grad Adam Stoltzfus \u201925<\/strong> with help from engineering lab tech Henry Bowser<\/strong> and funded by 2019 alumni Ben and Kayla Zook<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n 91短视频 Night with the Turks also offered a chance for future Royals to meet Herm and others within the campus community. Friends and Buffalo Gap High School grads Karina Bondaruk <\/strong>and Leah Palmieri, <\/strong>who will be attending 91短视频 as first-year students this fall, saw posts on the university\u2019s official Instagram page\u2014give it a follow here!<\/strong><\/a>\u2014promoting the event and felt it would be a good way to connect with the community. \u201cWe just wanted to soak in the 91短视频 atmosphere,\u201d Palmieri said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Melvin Felix,<\/strong> coach of the Royals men\u2019s basketball team, and his wife brought their three young sons out to the ballpark for the game. \u201cThey\u2019ve only been to little league tee-ball games,\u201d he said, \u201cso this is their first big league experience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Baseball fans, 91短视频 families and friends pack ballpark for third annual 91短视频 Night with the Turks Seventeen days after retiring from a 34-year career at 91短视频, Bonnie Bowser was out ... read more about Take us out to the ballgame<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":59302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14715,5861,17562,4513],"tags":[7946,18480,18128,17628,18125],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-59301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-conferences-and-events","category-digest","category-student-life","tag-baseball","tag-bonnie-bowser","tag-emu-night-with-the-turks","tag-melvin-felix","tag-valley-baseball-league","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n





