Charleston, Chattanooga to Swap Caps for Charity

CHARLESTON, S.C. - In wake of the recent tragedies in both Charleston, South Carolina and Chattanooga, Tennessee the Charleston RiverDogs and Chattanooga Lookouts will participate in a hat swap and auction with proceeds from both events going to charity.

"The RiverDogs saw the outpouring of support from the Minor League Baseball community in the weeks following the Mother Emanuel AME tragedy," said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. "When the heartbreak in Chattanooga happened, we saw an opportunity to pay it forward to another team in the brotherhood that is Minor League Baseball."

The Lookouts will wear the RiverDogs road caps on Saturday, August 15 during their game against the Tennessee Smokies at AT&T Field. The RiverDogs will wear Lookouts hats on Wednesday, August 19, which is the third and final ISHPI Military Appreciation Night of the season. The connection was a natural one considering the Lookouts Assistant General Manager, Harold Craw, previously served in the same role with the RiverDogs.

"The RiverDogs approached us with this idea and we immediately jumped on board," said Craw. "The support we have received from other teams around all of baseball has been humbling. We're thrilled this opportunity presented itself and more than happy to participate in this symbol of solidarity with the RiverDogs."

Both the RiverDogs and Lookouts will wear the hats in their respective games and conduct an auction from which the proceeds will go to charity directly benefiting those involved. Charleston will send the money raised from its auction at The Joe to Chattanooga and they will in turn donate it to an appropriate charity of their choice.

The RiverDogs will take the money raised in Chattanooga's auction and donate it to the fund supporting the family of Charleston Southern University baseball's Chris Singleton who lost their matriarch, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, in the horrific event.

Tragedy struck the Charleston community on June 17 when nine people were killed at Mother Emanuel AME Church in downtown. Just shy of one month later, on July 16, five members of the United States Military were killed at two military recruitment centers in Chattanooga.

The RiverDogs continue their homestand with game two of a three-game series against the Lexington Legends tonight (Wednesday) at 7:05 p.m. Charleston will send LHP Justin Kamplain (3-12, 4.94 ERA) to the mound against LHP Foster Griffin (0-5, 6.55 ERA) for the Legends. You can watch the game on MiLB.tv or listen to the action on "The Big Talker" 1250 WTMA, WTMA.com, and RiverDogs.com.

Every Wednesday home game at The Joe is a HealthSouth Senior Wednesday, presented by MeTV. Seniors who enter the park before 7 p.m. receive a food voucher for a complimentary hot dog, 16-ounce fountain drink, and bag of chips. It is also Hump Day presented by Magic 107.3.

-RIVERDOGS-