Dr. Breaux Throws Out The First Pitch At The Bowie Baysox 2022 Home Opener

BSU Gospel Choir Performs the National Anthem

 

MEDIA CONTACT: David Thompson, dlthompson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4311

(BOWIE, Md.) – Baseball fans were pleasantly surprised last Friday evening when they arrived at the Bowie Baysox Stadium to watch the home opener of the hometown team. Bowie State University President Aminta Breaux threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game and the BSU gospel choir provided rousing renditions of the National Anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, the Black National Anthem, to the delight of over 5,000 fans at the game.

 It was also a moving experience for members of the choir.

“This is the first time that BSU’s Gospel Choir has performed at a Baysox season opener,” said Latonya Wrenn, director of the choir. “The fans were very receptive and the choir, myself included, were very proud and felt honored to be performing at the game.”

The songs performed by the Gospel Choir and President Breaux’s opening pitch were not quite enough to help lift the Baysox over the Flying Squirrels as the home team lost the game by a score of 7 to 5. Even though the team didn’t win, BSU and the Baysox have a bright future ahead.

“We’ve sung at many different venues including a recent performance at a Washington Wizards game, but this was different atmosphere,” said Sean Cornish, a junior business major from Easton, Maryland. “The fans said we sounded beautiful and we can’t thank the Baysox organization enough for allowing us to sing for an audience that probably would not have the opportunity to hear BSU’s choir at any other time,” he said.

For many of the Baysox fans, seeing and hearing the BSU Gospel Choir at a game was an unexpected treat. The Choir also performed “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” the iconic song normally heard and sang by fans during baseball’s seventh inning stretch.

“Attending the game and performing was a very personal experience for me and nostalgic,” said Kayla Adams, a sophomore who grew up in Bowie and frequented Baysox games with her father as a child. “It was heart-warming to see the enthusiastic expressions on the faces of the children and adults as we sang.  It made us all feel like we were celebrities.”

The Bowie State Gospel Choir is now preparing for its Spring Concert on May 7, at 6:00 p.m., on the main stage of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.

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Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.