Seventh Annual ALS Awareness Game Back at Fenway Park

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Boston College baseball team will play the Seventh Annual ALS Awareness Game at Fenway Park, the team and the Boston Red Sox announced on Wednesday. The Eagles' game, played in honor of former captain Pete Frates who was diagnosed with ALS in March 2012, will feature an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup against Florida State on Saturday, April 21 at 3 p.m. in America's oldest ballpark.

Ticket proceeds will benefit the Pete Frates Home Health Initiative, which is a pilot program of the ALS Association, working with its Massachusetts Chapter, to provide in-home caregiving assistance for individuals living with ALS in Massachusetts who cannot otherwise pay for services. Tickets will go on sale at a later date.

It is the second straight year the Eagles will play the annual game five miles from The Heights after defeating NC State, 8-3, in 2017 in front of 3,603 fans, setting a new ALS Game attendance record. They went on to sweep the series against the Wolfpack. The matchup marked the first time an Atlantic Coast Conference game was played on the hallowed grounds.

Each year since Frates' diagnosis, the Eagles have held an ALS Awareness Game on their home field. In each of the last six seasons, over 2,000 fans have been in attendance to show their support for a cause very close to the BC community's heart. In 2016, Frates' No. 3 was retired and in 2015, the largest crowd in Shea Field history, 3,033 fans, attended the Eagles' ALS game against Georgia Tech.

The Eagles have played 38 times at Fenway Park, holding a 27-10-1 record in the iconic venue. Before last year's ACC contest, all BC's meetings were in the annual Baseball Beanpot tournament. In 2006, Frates was named Beanpot MVP – an award no longer given out – after a 4-for-4 day with a home run into Fenway's right field bullpen, a double and three RBls as the Eagles defeated Harvard, 10-2, for the title.

BC has won four times when playing in the Annual ALS Awareness Game, including the last three years (2017, 16, 15, 12). Last year, the Frates family – Pete, wife Julie and daughter Lucy, brother Andrew and parents John and Nancy, were on the field for the pre-game ceremonies. Chris Combs, a former NC State baseball player (1994-97) diagnosed with ALS in May 2016, threw out the first pitch and before the start of the game, L Star Ventures presented a $5,000 check to both the Frates family and Chris Combs as a donation for their foundations.

Frates was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 27 years old. Since then, he, along with his family and friends, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for the disease. In the summer of 2014, Frates championed the Ice Bucket Challenge through the use of social media. Along with the amount of awareness brought to ALS, over $220 million was raised to help find a cure. In November 2016, Frates was named the recipient of the NCAA Inspiration Award.

Frates completed his own ice bucket challenge to cap off the historic August 2014 at Fenway Park and during the spring training game between the Eagles and Red Sox in 2015, the teams donned No. 3 jerseys in honor of Frates at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. Both sets were put up for auction to benefit his fund. The Red Sox also signed him to a contract to make him part of the organization before opening day the same year.

A Beverly, Mass., native, Frates played in the outfield for the Maroon and Gold from 2004-07. A captain his senior year, he finished his BC career with 107 starts, a .228 average, 88 hits, 56 RBIs, 11 home runs and 34 stolen bases.

To learn more about Frates, visit www.petefrates.com.

The Red Sox also announced Army will host Navy at Fenway Park on April 20. Ticket proceeds will benefit the Home Base Program, a partnership between Massachusetts General Hospital and the Red Sox Foundation that helps veterans suffering from PTSD and other "invisible wounds of war."

Seventh Annual ALS Awareness Game Back at Fenway Park

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