Ohio and its student athletes are always looking for ways to give back to the community. This could not have been more evident during the annual Turn it Gold game at Bob Wren Stadium Friday night.
Before senior Blake Gaskey's first pitch, the Bobcats met with Landon, a local Athens child, hoping to touch his life and engage with him. This is one of many interactions put on by the Turn it Gold foundation throughout the country and during the school year at Ohio. They aim to draw awareness to children fighting cancer.
“We talked before the game about recognizing the Turn it Gold (event), like we have for the last several years,” Ohio coach Craig Moore said. “The young man come out today to meet the team, and what I told the team was, ‘You got to keep everything in perspective.’ … there's a lot of less fortunate people than us that have more things that are more concerning or worrisome than playing a baseball game.”
The Bobcats came out on the field fired up to play, grabbing the first win of the series with help from Gaskey. He would throw six innings of 3-run baseball to help the Bobcats hold onto an early lead propelled by a hard-charging offense. Gaskey plays with plenty of emotion on the mound and wanted to make sure the team and Landon knew he was feeling it today.
“The privilege that we get, not just me, but the whole team, to go out and play for not only the little boy Landon, but anybody out there struggling with something like that,” Gaskey said. “It's important that we take this opportunity and play for them.”
Ohio had the bats rolling Friday night and kept the fireworks rolling up and down the lineup. Graduate designated hitter Blake Reed went three for four on the night with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. He shared being a part of Turn it Gold night has become special to him over the past couple of seasons. He holds this night highly and always hopes to bring his best.
“It's just realizing that we have a lot of things that not a lot of people do, and just playing for those that can’t,” Reed said. “That's something I've made into my reason I do this over the past couple years, and it's just cool to get a win on this night.”
The Bobcats led 8-5 with two innings to play, and the door was shut by sophomore Jack Geiser, who collected six outs in two innings and closed out another successful Turn it Gold game in Athens with a Bobcats victory, and the fired-up team echoed the words of coach Moore.
“I told them, whenever they feel bad about themselves, they feel sorry for themselves, or, they've got bad body language or anything negative, think about people that are less fortunate to you because they would give anything to do, what you do on a day-to-day basis,” Moore said.
Ohio looks to continue its success throughout the weekend, but the impact this team left on the field and in the hearts of so many Athens faithful Friday night speaks volumes far beyond the outfield walls and in the players that gave their all to make this night special for children fighting cancer all over the world.
