For one St. Thomas Aquinas College student, this will be a Memorial Day Weekend to remember forever.
St. Thomas Aquinas College senior Joe Grimaldi may not be with his baseball teammates at the Division II National Finals, but he will have a chance to throw one final pitch as a collegian at the stadium he has called home for two seasons.
Grimaldi, a senior, was forced to miss his team’s trip to the Division II National Finals in Cary, North Carolina, to answer a higher calling. While he will be spending his last Memorial Day Weekend as a civilian, the 22-year old from Hawthorne, NJ, had previously enlisted to serve in the United States Marine Corps and will report to Parris Island, SC, as scheduled on Tuesday, May 27. His Spartan teammates will play their first game among the final eight schools in the country against Colorado-Mesa University on Sunday, May 25.
To honor his accomplishments both as a student-athlete as well as his commitment to serve his country, the Rockland Boulders of the Professional Can Am League will have Grimaldi throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sunday’s 2:00 game against the Quebec Capitales. STAC has called the Boulders’ home park home since 2011, and the team’s ownership reflected the support that has come from the local professional franchise.
"Saint Thomas Aquinas College and the Rockland Boulders both call Provident Bank Park home where we each focus on winning ball games and ultimately respective championships. STAC is on a run that has brought them oh so close to winning the Division II Baseball National Finals," said Ken Lehner Managing Partner/President of the Rockland Boulders. "However, Joe Grimaldi puts everything in perspective, placing his commitment to America and the Marines ahead of his commitment to America’s Pastime. We wanted to salute Joe for that decision by inviting him back to the field on which he competed in college to throw out the first pitch.”
There will be certain ironies to the recognition, as Grimaldi will not only step to the mound on his home field, but it will also be his “final pitch” as a college athlete, and will take place just hours before his Spartan teammates take the field at 5:00, just over 500 miles southwest of his Rockland County toss.
While he will miss being with his teammates, the communications major and future US Marine certainly has his priorities in order. “Going to the (National Finals) is the thing I want to do second most,” he reflected, “but being a Marine is the thing I want to do most so I’m okay with it.”
Joe Grimaldi and STAC Baseball in the News:
http://www.northjersey.com/sports/baseball/grimaldi-s-future-marines-not-series-1.1022825
http://www.lohud.com/story/sports/college/2014/05/23/aquinas-player-misses-ws-marines/9519061/
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/21/from-spring-training-to-basic-training-senior-to-miss-college-world-series-for-military-duty/ (includes Audio Clips from WCBS 880 and WINS 1010, NY)
http://westchester.news12.com/multimedia/team-of-the-week-st-thomas-aquinas-spartans-1.8158577
http://www.fios1news.com/lowerhudsonvalley/taxonomy/term/14029#.U4H9c3aXtZw