Charles W. Flanagan High School Baseball

It was a game he would have loved to have played in, but a tragic car accident took him away from us way too soon.  However, on this night, Ryan Smith was here, remembered by the hundreds who came out for the fine young man he was, and for the spirit and passion in which he played the game of baseball.

In the 2nd Annual Flanagan Falcons Baseball Alumni Game, it was the odd year graduates Green squad defeating the even year graduates Black squad, 7-2, behind the solid pitching of Alumni Game MVP Andres Ortegano (3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB) and the 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI efforts from Jesse Mesa and Luis Penate.  Falcons Green would get all they would need with 4 runs in the bottom of the third inning, but picked up three more in the bottom of the 5th inning, with Ortgano getting in on the act with a run scoring double.  Falcons Black avoided the shutout with 2 runs in their final at bat, when a J.D. Martinez single was sandwiched in between three hit batsmen to start the inning.  Martinez was also a pre-game Home Run Derby finalist, but would succumb to eventual champion, Zach Jackson, who also thrilled the crowd with a magnificent catch off the wall in left field during the game.

Before first pitch, Smith was honored in an emotional memorial ceremony, where the Falcons coaching staff presented Ryan's framed Flanagan #19 jerseys, along with remembrance portraits, to his family.  The number 19 was officially retired by the program, with a Ryan Smith #19 banner now present on the left field wall.  A memorial was also unveiled under the Falcons "Wall of Honor" at the entrance to the facility.  $325 was collected in Ryan's honor during the game for the Ryan Smith Scholarship Award, which will be awarded to a Falcons Baseball senior at the end of year banquet.  Additionally, the "Coaches Award" presented at the end of year banquet will be renamed in his honor.

Moving forward, this game, played annually on the Friday after Thanksgiving, will be known as the Ryan Smith Flanagan Falcons Alumni Game, with every player, as they did this year, wearing Ryan's name and number on their backs, ensuring that he will always be a participant in this event.