Corbin baseball hosting David Iery Invitational this Saturday

After hosting the event for the first time in 2022, the Corbin Redhounds baseball team is excited to once again present the David Iery Invitational at Don House Field this Saturday, April 29, beginning at 11 a.m.

“It is an honor to get to host this event,” said Redhounds Head Coach Cody Philpot. “Mr. Iery is a fantastic individual, and he has really done a lot to help people. For him to choose Corbin as a site for one of his tournaments is a huge honor for us. It should be a great day of baseball.”

David Iery was paralyzed from the chest down after sustaining an injury while sliding into home plate head first during a game in 1989 in Grayson, Ky. Years later, in 2017, he made the decision to start the David Iery Foundation, which is dedicated to spinal cord injury awareness, particularly within the game of baseball.

Iery and his foundation have developed impactful relationships with various teams and programs across the state, allowing them to host several tournaments and showcase events that also serve as fundraisers. Using those funds, the foundation is able to support spinal cord injury research, spread awareness about spinal cord injuries in baseball, and they are also able to present special scholarships to high school seniors.

“In 2019, he hosted a showcase at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington,” Philpot said of his initial interactions with Iery. “He invited us up, and we have developed a relationship since then. It has just branched out, and we ended up becoming the third site in the state that gets to host one of his tournaments.”

Iery is scheduled to be present at this weekend’s tournament, which will feature the Redhounds, the Paintsville Tigers, the Madison Southern Eagles and the Wayne County Cardinals. A portion of all ticket sales for the event will be donated to the David Iery Foundation.

For more information on the work that the David Iery Foundation does, visit them online at www.dif35.org.