Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – “Chatham Strong Night” Tuesday night at Robin Roberts Stadium was something the head of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes felt he had to do as a way of giving back — not only after the late-April crash claiming the lives of five youth, but also as a way to show love after their own tragedy. 

Jamie Toole, Horseshoes Chief Storyteller, said it was nearly three years ago when the community came together for the team, after player Lucas Otto was one of two people killed in a collision on Interstate 72 east of Springfield.  Toole remembers well all the things done for the team in the aftermath and during the team’s grieving.  He said he knew the team had to give back, and “Chatham Strong Night” was the perfect opportunity.

“When tragedy happens, you have a responsibility to try to do something to make some sort of a positive impact,” said Toole.  “So, we had a little brainstorming session …how can we help?  How can we do something?  In baseball, we do a lot of promotional jerseys, and we thought ‘what about Chatham Strong?'”

Two people from Chatham are on the Lucky Horseshoes.  One of them spent time at YNOT — the building damaged by the crash.

“I looked into it, and it was terrible,” said Lane Lorton, a relief pitcher for the Lucky Horseshoes.  He was at Parkland College the day the crash occurred.  “I looked up what was happening…my mom was texting me.  Actually, one of our neighbors was one of the people who was in the accident.  There’s two girls — they were both there.  One of them got hit.  It’s super sad.”

Lorton was in YNOT’s summer program for a few years, he said, around sixth grade, and says he remembers all the field trips he got to go on, including to places like the Saint Louis Science Museum.

Players wore special red jerseys like ones sold to the public, with proceeds going to Chatham Strong.  A number of the fans also wore their red in support of Chatham Strong.  The Springfield Cardinals youth baseball team, who won a state title last weekend, had special white Chatham Strong jerseys with red lettering.  They got the chance to spend time with the team during warmups, and two players threw out first pitches.

In it all, Toole says, is an important lesson that translates well to sportsmanship.

“What you want to do is want the players to acknowledge is…there’s balls and strikes, there’s outs, and there’s hits and home runs, wins and losses.  But, the most important thing is we’re all human beings, and at the end of the day we’re all on this one big team called humanity.  And, it’s always the right time to do the right thing, and that’s what tonight is all about — doing the right thing.”

A daylong music and food festival benefitting Chatham Strong is scheduled for Sunday, July 6.