Player's Mom Inspires Centenary College Baseball Team to Raise Funds to Fight Cancer

Centenary College baseball player Chad Frankenfield, along with his team members, will step off the diamong and onto the basketball court Friday to help raise money for cancer research in honor of Frankenfield's mother, who died from cancer in 2005.

The team hopes to sell enough T-shirts at the event to top what they raised for the nonprofit cancer research organization StandUp2Cancer.org in 2012. The group, made nationally famous through talk show host Katie Couric's annual telethons, will be the recipient for this year's contributions.

"I sold similar T-shirts last year to raise money and I decided to do the basketball fundraiser this year in honor of my mom and my teammates’ family members who have been affected by this awful disease," said Frankenfield.

The basketball tournament will run from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at the John M. Reeves Student Recreation Center at 715 Grand Ave. in Hackettstown. The event will include a silent auction featuring prizes including New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers memorabilia; tickets for the Lakewood BlueClaws, Pocono Raceway and Watkins Glen International Speedway; and gift certificates donated by local businesses.

Some of the prizes have a special meaning for Frankenfield.

"My mom started our annual trip to Watkins Glen for the NASCAR race and it's a tradition we continue to this day in her honor," he explained.

"Philadelphia Flyers games were also something we started with her and continue with today," he added. "The other sponsors and organizations were all teams and businesses that we felt would love to contribute and take part in our event and we thank every single one of them."

A junior at Centenary, Frankenfield played varsity baseball at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pa., for three years and said his teammates come from all over the northeast, including Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey.

The event, which is open to the public, will also help raise funds to help families offset the cost of cancer treatments, according to Frankenfield.

"We are hoping to raise as much money as possible and to let those affected know that they have teammates, family members and a community that cares about them and are willing to donate to help fight this disease," he said.

Admission to the fundraising event is $2. T-shirts will be sold for $15. For more information, email frankenfieldc@centenarycollege.edu or call 484-560-7509.