Reading, Pa. (Mar. 18, 2010) – The Alvernia University baseball team will start a new tradition to pay tribute to current and former Armed Services members at Friday games during the regular season.

The team will wear black jerseys with camouflage numbers bordered in white for all games, and for home games the team has invited members of the Alvernia community with ties to the Armed Forces to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

The Crusaders open the conference schedule this Friday hosting Elizabethtown College in their first Armed Forces Day. Alvernia junior Kelli McIntyre a member of the women's basketball team and recent graduate of boot camp and Advanced Individual Training, will throw out the first pitch this Friday. The only other Friday home game is April 21st against Arcadia. Mike Nerino, an assistant professor of Computer Information Services, is scheduled to throw out the first pitch.

Head Coach Yogi Lutz, whose father served in the Army borrowed the idea from other teams with similar traditions.

“We got the idea from a lot of minor league teams who do it,” said Lutz. “LSU did it last year and it was pretty big for them.”

In addition to the first pitch ceremonies, Friday game days will also feature patriotic music between innings and God Bless America for the seventh inning stretch.

“We've had some of our former players serve,” continued Lutz. “Josh Santos did the same thing Kelli did, and Phil Papirio was over in Iraq. Having these days keeps the people that served in the forces in the past and the people who are serving now in our minds every day. Our guys are pretty excited about it.”