As the Wilmington baseball community continues to come together in support of the Newsome family following the death of sixth-grader Alex Newsome last Friday, a scholarship fund has been set up in Alex’s memory.
Donations can be made at the concession stand during this week’s spring break tournament at Ashley High School or at any Bank of America location in Wilmington this week.
Following a service in Alex’s honor Sunday, the four New Hanover County high school baseball coaches came together, along with Stadium Athletics, to come up with special commemorative tops that all four teams are wearing this week at the spring break tournament.
The black and gold jerseys are going to be given to the Roland Grise baseball team in memory of their teammate. The coaches also decided to sell the neon green shirts for $20 each, with the proceeds going to the scholarship fund made in Alex’s name.
Any time you have a tragic event like this hit so close to home, coaches, fans and parents start to think about ways to better protect kids during competition, Ashley assistant coach Ben Stroehl said.
From the big leagues, down to college ball and the high school level, helmets are now worn by all base coaches in the field, and, according to Stroehl, requiring protective gear be worn during batting practice is something that’s been discussed during meetings across the state.
“Last summer, we actually attended an essential Carolina scholastic summer baseball league meeting and they really suggested using more protection for visiting teams, especially in the cage,” said Stroehl. “Especially with so many players throwing batting practice in the cage these days.”
Ashley High School has been proactive in making sure the kids are wearing head gear while throwing batting practice in the cages as the Eagles’ coaching staff requires all kids in the cage to wear a full lacrosse helmet to help prevent any head injuries in case a batted ball gets hit back at the pitcher.
“We actually implemented this past year at Ashley High School for anyone who’s throwing in the cage they must wear a full lacrosse mask in the cage,” said Stroehl. “Down the road, I can envision more protective measures, especially for the pitchers. Balls come off the bat so much faster than they come out of the pitcher’s hand that a lot of the time they just don’t have enough time to react to the ball. Anything we can try do to try to make the game a little safer, I think we’ll start to see more measure come down the line.”
The coaches at Hoggard High School shared similar concerns since Alex’s death on Friday. Hoggard has also started to use helmets during batting practice.
“It’s something that has hit hard in the baseball community here in the Wilmington community,” said Hoggard assistant coach Tommy Bowker. “Some of our guys have a lot of close ties to the kids at Roland-Grise and right now, all we can do is to just try and give them some space and the important thing is that we come together and show support and be there for them when they need it.
“I’m absolutely, 100 percent behind wearing a skull cap while throwing batting practice. I throw a ton of batting practice and I’ve had some close calls and you have a little time to react when the ball comes off the bat, so you bet that we’ll be wearing that helmet during batting practice from here on out,” Bowker said.
