WPSD Alumni Association

WPSD students get greeting with the Pirates

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Dozens of students from the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf got some hands-on baseball and softball training Monday during the eighth-annual “It’s Your Perfect Pitch” event at PNC Park.

Students from grades 7-12 visited the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ballpark for warmups and hitting, pitching and fielding instruction from volunteers, college coaches and players and former Pirates like manager Jim Leyland and pitcher Grant Jackson. The students also all got to meet the Pirate Parrot.

Pirates Charities arranged for each participating student to attend the club’s May 15 game against the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park, and fifteen of the students will get to see the game from upgraded seats in the Pirates Charities Suite.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, published on May 7, 2018.

Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Maleek Washington runs through a drill during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette) Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Aaliyah Sanders learns to throw from real estate broker Mark Ratti during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette) Deaf and hard-of-hearing students get a perfect pitch with the Pirates
Perfect Pitch
Former Pittsburgh Pirates Grant Jackson watches Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Wade Dunbar during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Buy this image Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Jon Holtz shares in a moment with former Pittsburgh Pirates Grant Jackson during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette) Baseball instructor Steve Harris teaches batting technique to Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Derek Dean during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Jim Leyland learns to say “I love you” from Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Olivia Larson during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Danielle Fisher, middle, loses her sunglasses as her classmates gather for a cheer during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Former Pittsburgh Pirates Grant Jackson watches Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf student Kyle D’Amore pitch during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf head softball coach Linda McKay receives a hug from former Pittsburgh Pirates Grant Jackson during the 8th annual Perfect Pitch baseball and softball clinic for deaf and hard-of-hearing student-athletes on Monday, May 7, 2018, at PNC Park. (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)