Country music’s most talented artists stepped up to home plate at City of Hope's 20th annual Celebrity Charity Softball Challenge on June 7 at Greer Stadium in Nashville.
Rival teams Grand Ole Opry and “After MidNite with Blair Garner” fielded teams which include CMA Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist and Grammy Award winner Vince Gill, ACM Top New Artist and Top New Solo Artist Luke Bryan and two-time reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and Grand Ole Opry member Carrie Underwood.
In its 20-year history, the Celebrity Softball Challenge in Nashville has raised over $2 million for City of Hope, a leading research, education and treatment center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Playing for the “After MidNite with Blair Garner” team were Ben Broussard, Chuck Wicks, David Nail, Joe Nichols, Josh Thompson, Luke Bryan, comedienne Melissa Peterman, JP Dumont of the Nashville Predators, CMT’s Katie Cook as emcee, Mike Gossin and Rachel Reinart of Gloriana, Keith Anderson, Randy Montana, Savannah Jack, The Oak Ridge Boys, Ken Amato and Donnie Nickey of the Titans, Vince Gill and Whitney Duncan.
In addition to Underwood, Grand Ole Opry team players included Brian Lambert as coach, Cheyenne Kimball and Tom Gossin of Gloriana, Craig Morgan, Colt Ford, Felix Cavaliere, Jaron & the Long Road to Love, Jason Aldean, Wade Belak of the Nashville Predators, Julianne Hough, Justin Moore, Mallary Hope, Great American Country’s host of “Headline Country” Storme Warren as emcee, The Band Perry, Titans Courtland Finnegan and Justin Gage, Trailer Choir and Two Foot Fred.
This year’s event celebrated two decades of country music’s biggest celebrities coming together in support of lifesaving research, treatment and education at City of Hope, one of the nation’s leading cancer centers. Music fans who couldn’t attend the game can still support City of Hope by visiting www.auctionsforhope.org and bidding online for one-of-a kind collectibles signed by country’s hottest stars, sports celebrities and others. For those families who were affected by the recent floods in Nashville, City of Hope donated 200 game-day tickets to the American Red Cross.
