This year, RHS’s very own falcons got the opportunity to play against L’anse Creues at Jimmy John’s Field on Saturday, April 29. RHS won 7-6  and the players got to experience what it is like playing on a pro field.

The Jimmy John’s field is located in Utica and is home to The United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL). This league was founded by Rochester-based General Sports and Entertainment. For the past 10 years they have made an effort to bring professional baseball to the Detroit area. This league launched in May of 2016 with three teams playing a full 75-game schedule at Jimmy John’s Field in downtown Utica.

The USPBL was designed as a program for players seeking to make it to the Majors. The teams are made up of top level college baseball players from around the country. This program consists of “state of the art coaching, the very best in musculoskeletal training and strength and conditioning programs, the latest advances in sabermetrics and video analysis, as well as a focus on personal development off the field,” their website said.

The quality of the players and the baseball is very high because players are scouted regularly by Major League teams. The 2016 season was a success because 9 players were picked up by Major League organizations during the league’s first year of business.

Eric Magiera, varsity baseball coach, said, “Events like this are great for team bonding, and it gives them an experience of playing in a pro stadium for the first time.” He also said, “The game was part of a tournament which has Macomb county teams play Oakland county teams.”

Not only did the players get to have this experience, but they also got to grant the Rainbow connection a check with money that they raised.

“[We raised] $3,975 through our Fight Win program,” Magiera said.

The purpose of this program is to raise money for charitable organizations that deal with cancer research, treatment, or care.

Overall, the team felt this event could be considered a great success. The players got to have an experience that they never had before, they got to present a check with money that they raised and about 200-300 people came to watch them play.