Mayo baseball hosting third annual Strike Out Cancer night on Thursday
May 6—ROCHESTER — The Mayo baseball team will host its third annual Strike Out Cancer game, honoring late coach Charlie Lonergan, when the Spartans play John Marshall in a crosstown rivalry game at 5 p. m. on Thursday, May 7, at Mayo Field in Rochester.
Lonergan, a 2001 Mayo High School graduate and Kasson teacher, passed away from Glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer, in January 2024. "It makes for a good night raising money for the Charlie Lonergan Foundation and bringing people together through baseball," Mayo head coach Tom Senne said. Senne said roughly $3,500 was raised at last year's event and additional donations came in throughout the summer.
Players from both teams will wear colorful wrist tape and bracelets during the game to recognize those fighting different types of cancer, such as pink for breast cancer, teal for ovarian cancer and gray for brain cancer. When the PA announcer calls up each batter, they will say who each player chose to honor or "play for" during the game — someone close to them who is/was affected by cancer. Before the game, the "Team Charlie" Foundation will once again present the Charlie Lonergan Scholarship to a Mayo baseball player "who exemplifies Charlie's commitment to selflessness, leadership and impact.
" Senne said a family in the community that is dealing with cancer will be recognized before the game as well and their kid will throw out the first pitch. There will also be raffle baskets donated by Mayo baseball families and shirts and hats for sale with proceeds benefiting the foundation. Last year, Mayo baseball dedicated the clubhouse at Massey Field next to Mayo High School to Lonergan with a plaque presented during the 2025 event, a doubleheader against Century.
Mayo won both games, the first by a score of 5-3 and the second 14-4.