Kansas City, Mo. - The Shorter University baseball team has been named the 2009-10 Buffalo Funds Five Star Champions of Character Team Award winner as announced by the NAIA late last week.

The prestigious award, one of 23 given out by the NAIA for each of its 23 championship sports, honors the one team in each sport that demonstrates in every day decisions respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship.

The winning institutions and athletic programs strive for excellence in and out of competition and are part of communities throughout the country dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics.

"I am blown away and very excited for our team about receiving this honor," said SU head baseball coach Matt Larry who, in his seven years at the helm of the Hawks' program, has made sure his players and coaches are actively involved in community outreach projects.

"There is no question that our guys work hard on the field, and in the classroom, they work just as hard to get out into the community to make a difference," he added. "It is a great honor to receive this award and I cannot say enough about the hard work and dedication that our guys displayed, as well as, the support Shorter has given us in these events." 

"We feel that our team does more than any other team in the nation and I am glad that the NAIA was able to recognize our team for its efforts in giving back to both our campus and the entire Rome community."

Shorter's baseball program has built a reputation for the incredible amount of community events that it hosts each year, both in the fall non-traditional season and during home contests in the spring.

During the 2009-10 academic year, the Shorter baseball team took part in 12 different community outreach events and made its mark by making appearances in the community, taking mission trips to foreign countries and helping to raise awareness and over $8,000 in funding for numerous charitable causes.

The Baseball Hawks take part in a number of outreach programs directed towards elementary school-aged children in the Rome and surrounding communities.

This past year, the Hawks took time to visit local elementary schools where they read books to students, provide an opportunity for the children to meet mascot Harry the Hawk and participate in events such as Halloween festivals and other celebrations.

The Hawks also participated in Drug Free Awareness Day at Garden Lakes Elementary as part of Red Ribbon week in the fall and supported the Open Door Home (ODCH) - an organization that provides housing for underprivileged youth in the community - by hosting the children of ODCH for pizza and fellowship during a Shorter volleyball match. 

In addition to sponsoring the popular Shorter Hawks Baseball Kids Club, the Baseball Hawks also hosted a series of T-ball camps for young children during the fall and spring in conjunction with the Rome YMCA at the Robert H. Ledbetter Baseball Complex.

"These community events are huge for our players because they get to be involved with the kids and families of Rome," Larry said. "The biggest rewards for us are the smiles on the children's faces."

Several Shorter players and coaches made a trip to the Dominican Republic during the Thanksgiving holiday to teach baseball and participate in mission work with Dominican children through SCORE International. During the trip, the players also participated in construction on nearby villages, food distribution, painting projects and more. 

"The SCORE International trip can be credited to the players who worked hard over the summer in order to raise money to fund their expenses," said Larry. "We hope to continue to make this an annual outing."

Shorter continued to host a wealth of promotional events targeting local and nationwide charitable causes during its spring schedule of home competition. 

"The promotional events during home games is a way to get the community involved with Shorter Baseball and to help spread the word while also raising money and awareness for various charities within our area and nationwide," said Larry. "All credit should be given to the players and those behind the scenes who helped run these functions.

"[Director of Operations] Ricci Lattanzi and [Director of Institutional Advancement] Rachel Rogers deserve a piece of this award, not to mention our Athletic Director Bill Peterson and Sports Information Director Matt Green."

For the third straight year, Shorter hosted the annual Striking Out Breast Cancer event, during which, through donations and the sale of t-shirts, hats and other merchandise, the Hawks raised $5,000 for the Breast Center at Floyd Medical Center and the Susan G. Koman Foundation.

Shorter's players wore pink hats and opposing players and umpires wore pink armbands in honor of the fight against breast cancer.

Shorter teamed up with Mal's Pals, Inc., to host the second annual Mal's Pals Day during a doubleheader with cross town rival Berry College.

The event, put on in honor of the daughters of Shorter employee Patrick McElhaney whose two daughters have been diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease, raised money for the organization while educating the community on this devastating disease, also known as Leigh's Disease. Mal's Pals merchandise was sold during the games and players wore green hats to honor the cause.

In April, the Hawks hosted the first annual Military Appreciation Day, an event that drew thousands onto the Shorter campus. With the help of the U.S. Army National Guard, this event provided an opportunity for the community to show its support for all of the servicemen and women who sacrifice so dearly for the freedom we enjoy.

The event also honored Northwest Georgia's own 108th Cavalry Squadron, which had recently returned home after its latest tour of duty in Afghanistan. The No. 88 Dale Jr. racecar was on hand, as well as three military Hummers, a 1954 Army Jeep, and artillery display and a pedal car course.

The Hawks donned camouflaged uniforms, Military Appreciation Day t-shirts were sold and donation buckets were gathered with all proceeds from all sales and donations benefitting the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation.

During its fall Alumni Game, Shorter Baseball also contributed to the Mark Whitaker Fund, an organization that raises money for post-liver transplant expenses in honor of Shorter graduate Mark Whitaker.

Whitaker served as the Voice of the Hawks for the Shorter baseball team from 1990-94 before being diagnosed with End Stage Liver Disease. He is currently fourth on a liver donor list, and the team showed its support by selling Liver Strong bracelets and donating all contributions and concession sales to the Liver Strong organization.

Baseball also took part in the Third Annual Hawks' Baseball Mr. Shorter Pageant, where male students and athletes were judged on talent, beauty and interview with all proceeds from the light-hearted event benefitting Mal's Pals.

All told, the 2009-10 season was a banner year for the Shorter baseball program, as it continued its tradition of serving the community and contributing to causes much larger than itself.

"I truly believe these events made a great impact on our player's lives, helping each to recognize the influence they can make on others," Larry said.

Next year, says Larry, people can expect even more from the Baseball Hawks.

"Once again we are planning to host Striking Out Breast Cancer, Mal's Pals Day and Military Appreciation," said Larry. "We also have some other things in the works, like a Throwback Day during which we honor teams from the 1960s and 1970s who helped pave the way for our current student-athletes.

"This would be a great way to recognize the history of the Shorter baseball program and I would love for those former players to have a chance to get back to campus and witness all of the wonderful changes to our school and community that they have helped to bring about."