BEVERLY, Mass. – Before hitting the ice for the 2015-16 season with NCAA Division III eligibility, several incoming members of the Endicott men's ice hockey program participated in the grand opening of a brand-new, rubberized, adaptive baseball field for the Miracle League of the North Shore. The first game of the 2015 spring season kicked off on Saturday, June 6th at The Douglas Marino Community Field and was hosted by the Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf (CCCBSD).
The Miracle League of the North Shore is an all volunteer, non-profit organization that gives children with disabilities a chance to play baseball as part of a team in an organized league at no cost to their family. The CCCBSD constructed the adaptive baseball field which eliminates barriers for children who use wheelchairs or are visually impaired or have other challenges. The facility is the first of its kind on the North Shore.
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| Freshmen Conner Frazier (left) and Shamus Maloney (right) round the bases with a young player at the Miracle League game. |
The League involves all players and volunteers using adaptive rules where every player bats once per inning, all players are safe on the base paths, every player scores a run before the inning is over with the last batter getting a homerun, community children and volunteers serving as "buddies" to assist the players, and each team and each player winning every game.
First-year head coach RJ Tolan saw eight incoming freshman and one hockey and lacrosse alumnus participate in the Miracle League's opening game of the 2015 season.
"I think the amazing part of college athletics is being able to expose our student-athletes to as many events like the Miracle League as possible," said Tolan, who was a three-time Coach of the Year and two-time conference champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier during eight seasons (128-74-16) as head coach at Wentworth from 2006-14. "There is no more rewarding feeling than making someone's day a little better and I'm glad our guys got to experience that with such a great organization."
Representing Endicott during Saturday's event were freshmen Jon Carricato (Ridge, N.Y.), Andrew Cross (Saugus, Mass.), Connor Frazier (Reading, Mass.), Lloyd Hayes (West Newbury, Mass.), Shamus Maloney (North Attleboro, Mass.), Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.), Joe Slovak (South Yarmouth, Mass.), Kyle Webb (Reading, Mass.) and former Gull Chris Murphy '14.
The second game of the 2015 Miracle League of the North Shore will be held on Saturday, June 13th at Marino Community Baseball Field at CCCBSD located at 6 Echo Avenue in Beverly. For information on how to register a player, volunteer at a future event, or submit a general inquiry check out the links below.
2015 Player Registration Form
Volunteer Registration Form
playball@cccbsd.org
