Free Baseball!!!

If you are a Covington Lumberjacks fan, you are in luck.

Due to tough economic times, admission to every Lumberjacks home baseball game this season will be free.

“We just didn’t think it was fair to charge five dollars admission to each member of a family of four or five,” said Dizzy Garten, a member of the Lumberjacks ownership group. “We want families to be able to come out and enjoy a game.”

A new face – Arlan Freeman – will lead the Lumberjacks this summer.

Freeman has coached in the Cape Cod League and the past few summers and coaches at Berry University in Miami, Fla. Freeman is originally from Maine.

The Jacks’ ownership group is also currently working on assembling a 28-man roster that features key returnees and new faces.

“We hope to bring back some key players from last year,” said Gary “Boo Boo” Whitehead, a member of the Lumberjacks ownership group. “We’ve been in contact with Andrew Caron, Cassidy McDaniel, Benny Mejia, Richie Rodriquez along with Alleghany graduates Steven Keener, Steven Holt and Josh Jordan.”

Also, at the home finale on August 2, Alleghany Motors will be giving away a car to one of 22 lucky 50/50 winners.

“The way this is going to work is, if you win the 50/50 you’re going to have the option of either taking the money or putting your name in for the drawing for the car at the end of the season,” said Garten. “We thought it would be something different.”

The ownership group also plans to give away prizes in between each inning, whether it be a free carwash at Downtown Auto Wash or other gifts and prizes.

“We just really want to make this a family experience this summer and want fans to come out and support the team,” said Garten. “We need all the local sponsorships we can get to make this happen.”

The ownership group is also pondering the idea of having special guest appearances at Jacks games this summer.

“We think this could really help bring some people out to the ballpark,” said Whitehead. “We’re pondering having a Virginia Tech night and trying to get some players to come to the game and we have other ideas in store.”

The ownership group is looking for all the volunteers they can get and are still in need of host families for the upcoming 2010 season.

The Lumberjacks open their season Friday, June 4, at Woodstock. The will host Winchester the following night in their home opener on June 5.