GETTYSBURG, Pa. – For the second year in a row, the Gettysburg College baseball team will hold a "Project ALS Day" when it hosts Dickinson College in a Centennial Conference match-up on Friday.
 
Before the game, a brief ceremony will be held to recognize Project ALS on behalf of Tommy Kirchhoff, the son of Bill '63 and Jean Kirchhoff '64, and all three plan to attend. The Kirchhoffs are long-time supporters of the Gettysburg College baseball program, and the team's home facility is named "Kirchhoff Field" in their honor. Tommy Kirchhoff was diagnosed with ALS in 2010.
 
Project ALS is a foundation whose mission is "to recruit the world's best research scientists and clinicians to work together toward an understanding of and the first effective treatments for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease."
 
Throughout the past two years, in honor of Tommy Kirchhoff the baseball team has held a fundraiser dubbed "Take ALS Yard." Organized by third baseman Nate Simon '14, the Bullets have sold "Take ALS Yard" hats and tee-shirts with proceeds going to Project ALS. The Bullets will continue to take donations for Project ALS throughout Friday's game and the rest of the season.
 
Last year, Daniel Paulling of the Evening Sun documented Tommy's story and the baseball team's support efforts: http://www.eveningsun.com/sports/ci_23057187/gettysburg-college-baseball-team-behind-kirchhoff-he-battles.
 
The 29th-ranked Bullets are 19-3 on the season, have won their last 16 games, and hold a two-game lead for first place in the Centennial Conference at 5-0.