Softball

Kean Softball Battles Against Breast Cancer

UNION, N.J. (6/11/09) - For the second straight year, the Kean University softball team raised more than $2,500 for breast cancer awareness with the team's "Bat for the Battle" campaign this past Spring. 

On Saturday, April 25, Kean and Rutgers-Newark set aside their on-field New Jersey Athletic Conference rivalry, as they together raised more than $3,000 for the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

The Cougars raised money through selling "Bat for the Battle" t-shirts and pink Kean visors, while also collecting donations for the cause.

During warm-ups, both teams wore their "Bat for the Battle" t-shirts, and also sported pink visors, pink hair ribbons or pink wristbands during the game to continue to show their support and create breast cancer awareness. 

The 28 members of the teams were not the only ones showing their support that afternoon, as Kean Head Coach Margie Acker and Rutgers-Newark Head Coach Patty Clarke, along with their coaching and support staffs, also wore their pink shirts, while the stands at Cougar Field were filled with pink attired fans. 

Prior to the start of the game, Pat Coyle, head coach of the WNBA's New York Liberty, joined Katherine Lizzi, a breast cancer survivor and mother of Kean centerfielder Allison Lizzi, in the pitcher's circle to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

The "Bat for the Battle" campaign was also conducted in conjunction with "Kean Blue Thinks Pink" that began in October 2007 with all 16 of Kean's athletic teams supporting breast cancer awareness through t-shirt sales and donations.  Since that time, the Cougars teams have raised more than $10,000 for breast cancer awareness. 

The Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund is in honor of North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who passed away earlier this year after a courageous 20-year battle with breast cancer.