SEATTLE — On Saturday, Feb. 8, Seattle University baseball held its annual Meet the Redhawks event, held this year at the Seattle Marriott in Bellevue. The evening, which serves as a major fundraiser for the program, raised over $185,000 as guests enjoyed dinner as well as live and silent auctions with Seattle U alum Ian Lindsay, '04 serving as emcee.
"What a humbling night," said head coach Donny Harrel. "Our supporters are absolutely incredible and their generosity is unmatched. I was also very proud of our student-athletes who spoke. There is no doubt the event did a great job honoring our 2010 team and got our 2020 club excited to begin the season."
The highlight of the night however was the participation from the 2020 Redhawk roster, who provided comments during the program.
Senior pitcher Tyler Yeh was among the key speakers, as he shared his gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to play Division I baseball. Junior pitcher Brandon Jenkins had the opportunity to interview guest speaker Bill Haselman, who played 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, including three with the Seattle Mariners.
The evening also honored the team from 2010 for being the first to graduate since the program's rebirth. Eric Yardley, a 2013 graduate and the program's first player to appear in the Majors in 60 years, sent a video message to the alums and current players from Spring Training with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Raise the Paddle portion of the night provided a lot of excitement as did the live auction which featured items such as golf with Seattle Mariners CEO Kevin Mathers, a trip to Las Vegas and an African Photo Safari. By the end of the night the Redhawks hit the one-million-dollar mark for total fundraising over the event's 11 years.
The Redhawks are scheduled to the 2020 season this weekend, as Seattle U host a three-game series with Creighton beginning on Friday. For more information, news and general updates be sure to follow @SeattleUBase on Twitter and Instagram.