LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville and Bellarmine baseball decided to play against each other on Wednesday night to honor the victims from Monday's mass shooting at Old National Bank in downtown Louisville and try to bring the city together.
The Cardinals and Knights cancelled their Tuesday games in light of the tragedy. Then, the two city schools thought it would be appropriate to play one another.
"Several of our coaches have been here for a long time," Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell said. "Our kids were raised in this community. We have a lot of local players on both rosters. So, it shook us up."
"We're trying to rally around our community and at least bring some light to the situation," Bellarmine head coach Chris Dominguez said.
Five local players from the Cardinals and Knights put down five roses and baseballs with the names of the victims around home plate before the game. The two teams lined up together for a moment of silence and the national anthem.
"You never have the right words to say sometimes and don't know what to do sometimes in situations like this," Dominguez, a former Louisville player, said. "But this is what we know how to do."
Fans attended the game for free. It also came ahead of Louisville's Heroes Weekend, which is a promotion designed to honor first responders. So, the UofL program changed it to Heroes Week to recognize those who responded to Monday's tragedy.
"I saw the footage of the two officers and their response, what that team did," McDonnell said. "So, we just felt like man, what an opportunity to use a baseball game to show our support."
Louisville ended up beating Bellarmine 14-2. But while the scoreboard showed two teams, in reality, there was just one.
"We call it a community service," McDonnell said. "But man, I just call it loving on the community that loves you."
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.