Oakland, CA -- The Urban Knights baseball team kicked off the season two weeks ago with their first games of 2012 against Dixie State at Laney College, but before that also started the spring season on a charitable note, pitching in at nearby Oakland Tech High School for their annual cleanup of local baseball fields.
"Our kids are going to be looked at as role models," said head coach Brian Guinn. "Kids want to get into college baseball, and this is an opportunity for them to see that it takes more than just talent on the baseball to be a complete student-athlete."

The Knights participated in a total makeover of the field, much more than just spring cleaning. The team pulled weeds from the infield, laid down new sod, scraped the old paint off the benches in the dugout and repainted them, and cleaned up trash.

"It's nice to give back especially to a community which surrounds where we play," said pitcher and SAAC representative Samm McAlear. "We practice on that side of the Bay and those are the people who come to our games so wanted to help them out. We all love this game of baseball and everyone deserves to play on a good field."
Guinn grew up in the Bay Area, playing and later coaching at Berkeley High School, going to UC Berkeley, and playing in the Oakland Athletics organization, so the East Bay is not foreign territory. Many of the Urban Knights have connections to that side of the Bay as well. The Babitt brothers, Myles Babitt and Zach Babitt, grew up in Richmond and attended Albany High School, as did pitched Yoshi Uemura. Niko Leite (Rodeo, CA) and Nate Gercken (Pinole, CA) also have East Bay ties, and farther inland, James Singzon and Stefen Henderson call Vallejo, CA home. 

"We want to help out the Oakland schools," Guinn said. "We want to help out the Berkeley schools. We want to help out the San Francisco schools. We're all over the place and we want to show our appreciation."