Grammy Award-winning artists Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill were among the many stars competing in the 17th annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball Challenge on June 7.
Rival teams “Grand Ole Opry” and “After Midnite with Blair Garner” faced off in front of 4,000 fans. Held at Greer Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., the softball game raised more than $100,000 for cancer research, treatment and education.
In addition to the two headliners, a throng of celebrities including Craig Morgan, Clint Black, Trick Pony, Emerson Drive, Tennessee Titans Craig Hentrich and Donnie Nickey and NASCAR driver Shane Huffman showed their support by participating in the event. “With cancer affecting over 10 million people in the United States today, this is our way of creating national awareness and support for a tremendous institution like City of Hope,” said Keith Burns, of the band Trick Pony. “The country music industry is a very tight-knit community that believes in this cause and wants to make a direct impact in helping find the cure.”
This year’s sponsors included Lynnco Custom Cycles, Grand Ole Opry, the “After Midnite with Blair Garner” radio show, the Gibson Foundation (the charitable arm of the Gibson guitar company), WZTV-TV (Fox 17) and Nashville Scene.
