Mariners Opening Day Fun for Sammamish Liver Transplant Survivor

Seattle Mariners Opening Day is an event filled with pomp and ceremony, and eleven-year-old Sammamish resident Marlee Burkett of Sammamish will be right in the thick of it.

The traditional opening of the field with the ceremonial first run around the bases will feature Marlee, who underwent a recent liver transplant in 2011, as the first person to "touch them all" during the April 8 Opening Day fesitivies. 

The Mariners work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to select a child for the annual Opening Day festivities. Marlee was granted her first wish to go to Walt Disney World Resort in February, and tonight she will be joined by her parents, Lance and Holly, and brother Max at the game.

One-and-a-half years after her transplant, Marlee said one of her greatest enjoyments is attending Seattle area sporting events, according to a press release. Marlee is "one of the Mariners most enthusiastic fans, cheering loudly and proudly," and will be wearing a #34 Felix Hernandez jersey.

"Marlee will run the bases with joy and a grateful heart, honoring all children with life-threatening medical conditions impacted by Make-A-Wish," said a Make-a-Wish press release.

Jamie Moyer, the winningest pitcher in Seattle Mariners history, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, and Seattle band Pickwick will start the pregame festivities by performing three songs-a cover of Elvis Costello's Pump It Up, an original tune called Window Sill, and John Fogerty's Centerfield.

There will also be a moment of silence in honor of Former Governor Booth Gardner and former state Senator Sid Snyder. The grandchildren of Snyder, a longtime Mariners season ticketholder, will deliver the game ball to the mound.

Marlee's running of the bases before the Mariners open the 2013 season will take place at approximately 7:10 p.m.