By Bart Moss for the FCT

This was the second year for Red Bay High School’s alumni baseball game, and Coach Richard Maggerise said community enthusiasm for the event is growing.

“You know it’s not a high school game when you hear people hollering ‘Daddy!’ from the stands,” Maggerise joked.

This year’s series of games featured two teams of Red Bay alumni as well as a Tharptown team, making possible a three-game series.

“The guys really enjoyed it. A lot of them hadn’t gotten to play in a while,” Maggerise said. “As soon as the games were over with, I already had people asking me when we are going to do it next year.”

The alumni game is partially a fundraiser, but Maggerise said the priority is geared toward generating excitement in the program and building Tiger spirit. “It was fun for everybody, I believe,” he said.

Next year, Maggerise hopes to start a Men with Bats adult baseball league and play multiple games throughout the month of June, with teams made up of men from across the county. “We had a ton of people who were really interested in it,” he said.