Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Head to Sixth Annual Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic this Weekend
September 26, 2006 | Softball
Sept. 26, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University softball team heads to the state capitol this weekend, to compete in the final tournament of the fall season. New head coach Shannon Salsburg and the Falcons will participate in the Sixth Annual Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). The 19-team tournament will be held at Ohio State's Fred Beekman Park.
The Falcons are scheduled to play four games in the tourney, facing OSU (1:00 p.m.) and Dayton (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday, and Wright State (1:00 p.m.) and Akron (3:00 p.m.) on Sunday.
The tournament, annually one of the biggest fundraisers in Central Ohio for breast cancer research, benefits the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.
Last year, the event raised a tournament-record $20,000 and is expected to go beyond that total in 2006, thanks in part to the continued support of the Ohio Troopers Coalition, which again this year has already pledged $7,500.
"We are very appreciative of what (OSU coach) Linda Kalafatis and the Ohio State softball program have done for The James each year," Jen McDonald with The James Cancer Hospital said. "Their support to the hospital has been tremendous and their event is one of the Top 5 fundraisers for the Stefanie Spielman Fund in our community each year. They are truly making a difference in cancer research."
The large-school bracket this year boasts 10 of the 11 Division I programs in Ohio, including UA, BGSU, Cleveland State, UD, Kent State, Miami, Ohio, OSU, Toledo and WSU. In the small-school bracket are Ashland, Findlay, Kenyon, Ohio Dominican, Rio Grande, Shawnee State, Tiffin, Ursuline and Wittenberg.
Fred Beekman Park is a four-field complex located west of State Route 315 at Lane Avenue. Concessions will be available and bleacher seating is limited. Admission to the event will be a $5 donation and all proceeds go directly to the charity. Notably, all of the umpires for this event are donating their time.
Spielman and her husband, former All-Pro NFL linebacker and OSU standout, Chris Spielman, established the Stefanie Spielman Fund. The couple pledged to raise $1 million for breast cancer research at the Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University. The goal has been surpassed, but the Spielmans continue the fight against breast cancer. For information, please log on to the Stephanie Spielman Fund website at www.jamesline.com.
(portions of this release courtesy ohiostatebuckeyes.com)
