Some 180 Pacific boosters and avid baseball fans turned out for a ball game Thursday evening July 22 to see the St. Louis Cardinals play the fourth and final game of their series against the Chicago Cubs.
The Cardinal’s won the game three to two but a couple of innings scrunched into Casey at the Bat nail biters. Pacific fans groaned in unison when Cubs landed two hits and two runs in the fourth inning. The game halted briefly when a pitched ball hit Cardinals shortstop Edmundo Sosa on the helmet. Sosa remained face down for a few tense seconds that felt much longer, but stayed in the game and ran the bases following his automatic walk.
The Pacific fans were there to benefit the Historic First Baptist Church restoration project. They filled sections 170, 171 and 172 of Busch Field, along the third baseline. They were in a pretty good crowd. Some 41,412 fans attended the game.
The Reverent Robert Stevenson, HFB pastor and Restoration Committee chairs Norbert Gildehaus, Bob Masson and Brad Reed organized the event.
The historic church that has served the Black community of Pacific since 1874, has flooded numerous times due its location in the lower section of the City. Following the 2016 flood the restoration committee was formed to completely renovate the historic building and preserve it from future floods.
The ballgame was one of several after COVID public fundraisers to enable the committee to meet its set target to complete the project and turn the restored building over the congregation by Thanksgiving Day.
It was great to see so many Town People turn out for such a worth cause