Prior to the SMC/AIC games, Coach Newton pulled the team and the crowd in for an intimate dedication of the James Wagner Memorial Batting Cage. Mr. Wagner (who passed away in 2006, after enjoying SMC's victory over UVM), was Casey Brooks' grandfather and a loyal fan of all the Purple Knights.

Gifts in his memory funded this fantastic resource for the SMC softball team. Robin spoke beautifully during the ceremony, and then Casey and her Gramma Wagner cut the ribbon. Gramma got to throw the inagural pitch to Casey in the cage -- and joked coming out of the cage (in classic Gramma Wagner style), "That'll probably be the only hit she gets today" ... Wonderfully, she was wrong, as Casey rose to the occassion and CRUSHED a home run in their game 1 victory over AIC.

Nicely done by all involved -- a nice tribute to a fine gentleman.