Sports is often used as an escape to get away from the real world for fans. Tuesday, baseball was used to rally around a pair of communities that were devastated by a tornado just more than a week ago.
Mayflower and Vilonia's baseball teams met at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock to help raise money for disaster reliefs. More than 8,000 Arkansans joined them at the home of the Arkansas Travelers including a pair of head coaches from the University of Arkansas.
"As a head coach that went 3-9 you realize how much of an affect that has on people," Razorbacks' football coach Bret Bielema said. "Every Saturday they are looking for that glimmer of hope. I know we're going to be able to deliver better things in the fall but for us right now to just be a part of this is very special."
"Sitting there in that locker room, I see the smiles on these kids faces and they've been through quite a bit of travesty when talking about the tornado that took place," Arkansas men's basketball coach Mike Anderson said. "I'm a part of this community. We're part of this state so it makes sense for us to come. They support us and so we're supporting them."
Vilonia might have won on the scoreboard, 3-0, but the support showed by fellow Arkansans was the one thing that those involved will remember.