SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

RiverDogs' Eight-Game Homestand Starts Friday, July 25

Published on July 22, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


CHARLESTON - Following the first eight-game road trip of the second half, the Charleston RiverDogs host their second eight-game homestand in a pair of four-game sets against the Hickory Crawdads, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, from July 25-28, and the Asheville Tourists, a Colorado Rockies affiliate, from July 29-August 1 at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

First pitch for each contest is set for 7:05 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

Friday, July 25 marks another Force Protection Red Shirt Friday, presented by Force Protection Industries, Inc. and WEZL, in which everyone who wears a red shirt to the game that evening receives $1 off the ticket price at the box office, then have the option to donate that $1 to those Lowcountry servicemen and women defending our nation overseas. The RiverDogs also wear special red jerseys each and every Friday home game that will be auctioned off at the end of the season.

Charleston will also hold its inaugural Topps Pro Scouts Hall of Fame presentation at The Joe, which is also being done by every organization in the Goldklang Group, the ownership group that has a stake in five other minor league teams, including the RiverDogs. On this evening, Dodgers scout Lon Joyce of Spartanburg and former Yankees scout Donny Rowland will be the latest inductees into the first class of the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame (PBSHOF). The evening will be book-ended by another fabulous Friday Night Fireworks spectacular.

Saturday, July 26 is the RiverDogs' Salute to Negro League Baseball presented by South Carolina State University, which celebrates the remarkable impact and indelible mark left on the game by the Negro Leagues, which gave players like Josh Gibson and Jackie Robinson a chance to showcase their talents on the grandest stage of all. The RiverDogs will wear the Newark Eagles jerseys, and the Crawdads will don the jerseys of the Homestead Grays. The first 1,000 fans to click through the turnstiles receive a Larry Doby Newark Eagles replica jersey presented by Comcast, WCSC-TV 5 and WJNI.

Two former Negro Leaguers will be on hand that night to throw ceremonial first pitches, including Larry LeGrande, who was a catcher for legendary pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige, and Clifford Layton, who starred for the New York Black Yankees.

The RiverDogs will also present the 2008 Charleston Humanitarian Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which welcomes Augustus "Gus" Holt into the hallowed halls. Holt was a former president of Charleston Little League Baseball and served as a local historian in helping promote the 1955 Cannon Street All-Stars.

Sunday, July 27 is a Family Sunday at The Joe, presented by the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Center, MUSC Sports Medicine and Star 99.7 FM. The game that afternoon against Hickory is scheduled for a 4:05 p.m. first pitch. Monday, July 28 marks the conclusion of the Hickory series and is another Dogs With a Cause Night at Riley Park. On this evening, the RiverDogs partner with the Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization, to generate exposure and funds for their cause.

It's also Catch the Reading Bug Night at The Joe, the local summer reading program for area school children in a unique partnership with ABC News 4 and the Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester county libraries as part of Lowcountry's Promise. The first 2,000 kids that signed up for the program will be wearing special wristbands that give them free admission to the night's game.

The Asheville Tourists journey to the Holy City for the second time this season to start a four-game series on Tuesday, July 29, after besting the RiverDogs by a single game for the first-half Southern Division title. That night will be a BI-LO Two for Tuesday, presented by BI-LO, B 92 and The CW, with two-for-one discounts on upper reserve, lower reserve and general admission seating at the box office.

With the football season right around the corner, the RiverDogs' promotional crew is holding Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL? Night, with all between-inning promotions focusing on the gridiron classic. Fans can don the garb of their favorite football team and still receive the two-for-one discount at the box office.

Earlier in the day, the second part of the 2008 RiverDogs Baseball Camp gets underway at The Joe, and runs through Friday, Aug. 1, for all children ages 6-13 from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. presented by Trident Health Systems. For more information on this special event, contact Melissa McCants at (843) 723-7241.

Wednesday, July 30 is another ALL-U-CAN-EAT Wild Wednesday in the Ashley View Pub, with its rotating menu of delicious items for just $20 through the end of the seventh inning. It will also be an emotional spotlight night with Ed Randall's Bat for the Cure-Prostate Cancer Awareness Night, which will feature public service announcements on the Riley Park video board, presented by The Wolf 96.9 FM.

Thursday, July 31 is the first Thirsty Thursday of the homestand, presented by Market Street Saloon and 95 SX, with $1 food and drink special is the Ashley View Pub all evening long. The RiverDogs' promotional crew will also hold its Salute to American Gladiators Night, the immensely popular athletic competition which has again swept the nation by recently returning to primetime television.

Friday, Aug. 1 kick-starts a new month on the Gregorian calendar, but ends the Asheville series and the eight-game homestand with the second Force Protection Red Shirt Friday presented by Force Protection Industries, Inc. and WEZL.

In another special presentation, four new members will be inducted into the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame, with former major leaguers Bryce Florie and Charley Smith, former St. Andrew's High and Citadel standout Richard Wieters, and former Cooper River Parks and Playground Commission Director Danny Jones all being enshrined that night. Smith and Jones are being inducted posthumously.

The RiverDogs organization will also present a $50,000 check to the MUSC Storm Eye Institute for the revenue generated from the Kindness Beats Blindness Auction, the 4th Annual Hot Stove Banquet and the RiverDogs' "Fun Is Good" Golf Tournament held at the Links at Stono Ferry.

After the completion of the homestand, Charleston journeys to Greenville to take on the Drive, a Boston Red Sox affiliate, for a four-game series from Aug. 2-5 at Fluor Field at the West End in downtown Greenville.

For ticket information, contact the RiverDogs Box Office at (843) 577-DOGS, or visit the team's website at www.riverdogs.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 22, 2008


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