[May 7, 2007]

Southern Arkansas University baseball head coach Allen Gum and his team presented in gratitude their most esteemed award to guests from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation prior to the game at SAU Saturday, April 28.

SAU Mulerider baseball coach Alan Gum shows his appreciation to the Walker Foundation Saturday, April 28, as he hugs Debbie Walker. Also pictured are SAU President Dr. David Rankin, left, and Johnny Mike Walker, right.

The award was a marble, and it was to thank them for the largest athletic donation in SAU’s history. The Walker Foundation provided a $160,000 matching grant, which allowed for the new lights at the baseball stadium.

The marble award is the most sought after recognition a player on the Mulerider baseball team can receive, according to Gum. It was presented by the team, framed beneath a photo of the illuminated baseball field during a night game, to Johnny Mike Walker and his wife Debbie.

The Walkers were announced prior to the game against Delta State during a ceremony on the field and Johnny Mike threw out the first pitch. When the ball hit the catcher’s mit, fans released blue and gold balloons that soared up in the sky past the towering new lights.

Members of the Mulerider baseball team shake Debbie Walker’s hand after presenting her and her husband, Johnny Mike Walker, not pictured, with a plaque.

Gum stressed that the added lights at the baseball field will be a major improvement for everyone in the community.

“Lights at the field will give community members who don’t have a chance to watch a day game an opportunity to support the baseball team,” said Gum. “There is nothing like watching a night baseball game.”

The lights will also allow SAU to host regional and state tournaments.

SAU Athletic Director Jay Adcox expressed his appreciation for the funds from the Walker Foundation and said that they helped a great deal in improving the facilities for one of Arkansas’s most prestigious baseball programs.

Johnny Mike Walker throws out the ceremonial first pitch. Photo by Aaron Morris
Former University of Arkansas baseball coach Norm DeBriyn also flew down from Fayetteville with the Walkers to enjoy the game. The two all-time win leaders in college baseball in the state of Arkansas with former SAU baseball coach Steve Goodheart in attendance. Adding Delta State head coach Mike Kinnison’s 500 career victories to DeBriyn’s 1,161 wins, and Goodheart’s 764 wins, totaled 2,425 wins with 11 combined World Series appearances.

The esteemed guests watched as Gum’s 18th-ranked Muleriders defeated the 16th-ranked Delta State 3-2 in the nine inning contest. The Statesmen claimed an 8-1 victory in the seven-inning nightcap.

After hosting the Walker Foundation guests at a dinner in the Reynolds Center, SAU President Dr. David Rankin and SAU Foundation representatives escorted them back to their jet at Magnolia Airport. They did take the scenic route past the well lit baseball facilities so the Walkers could see first hand what they helped accomplish.