Country Stars Help ‘Strike Out Cancer’ At 26th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game
The stars were out in full-force at Nashville's First Tennessee Park on Tuesday (June 7).
The stars were out in full-force at Nashville’s First Tennessee Park on Tuesday (June 7) to help “strike out cancer” at the 26th Annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Game.
Taking the field this year were Cassadee Pope, A Thousand Horses, Brett Young, Lauren Alaina, Danielle Bradbery, Mickey Guyton, Bret Michaels, David Nail, Jamie Lynn Spears, Jessie James Decker, Charles Esten, Chris Lane, Scotty McCreery, RaeLynn, and many more. Vince Gill, who has participated in the game 25 of 26 years, also stepped up to the plate.
Chris Lane and Chris Lucas of LOCASH were among the artists who proved they had skills off the stage, hitting home runs during the game. Team iHeart Country and Team Opry ultimately ended the game in an 18-18 tie, but the real winner was City of Hope as more than $200,000 was raised for cancer research.
Before the first pitch was thrown, Trisha Yearwood delivered a stunning performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” and music industry veteran Bruce Hinton was honored with the “Champion of Hope Award.” Hinton, who originally founded the game, was presented with the honor by President and CEO of Big Machine Label Group, Scott Borchetta.
One of the most memorable moments of the event came when Aaron Yniquez, an 8-year-old City of Hope patient from Redlands, California, finally had the chance to meet his donor, Yolanda Nava, a Southwest Airlines® employee from Arlington, Texas on the pitcher’s mound. During his treatments for acute myeloid leukemia, Yniquez received a donation of genetically matched stem cells from Nava. The donation saved his life.
Fans unable to attend the game can still give back to the cause by bidding on signed merchandise and meet and greets at COHAuctions.com. The proceeds will benefit City of Hope’s mission to eradicate cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Watch the video above for more from the star-studded game.
