Here's the pitch: The annual National Hospital Week softball game this evening ought to be a hit.
"It is always fun. We get a lot of employees out there and some of the doctors," said John Cook, employee coach and Wellness Center director.
The game pits Greenwood Leflore Hospital employees against doctors on the medical staff. The game starts at 6 p.m. in Whittington Park. Everyone is invited.
Concessions have been donated, so all of the sales proceeds will be turned over to the Greenwood Leflore Hospital Foundation.
Also expected to be a crowd pleaser for National Hospital Week is Spring Fest, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday in the hospital's parking lot. There will be booths, game and concessions.
Again, proceeds will be turned over to the foundation, which is working to remodel the hospital's chapel and pediatric unit.
There ought to be plenty of kidding around at Whittington, according to Allison Faulkner, marketing director.
Coach Jim Hardin, a urologist, says he is stacking the doctor team with other health professionals, including a ringer from Hattiesburg - nurse anesthetist Robert Pinson - as pitcher.
This is fair because the other team has an advantage. "They practice," Hardin said.
But Cook said that's not true. He did acknowledge that several members of his team played on high school, and maybe college, teams.
Hardin said the doctor lineup also will be bolstered by a pair of the "the usual stellar athletes" - Dr. Preston Boles, a podiatrist, and Dr. Kenny Hines, an internal medicine specialist.
And Dr. Thomas Weldon, also a urologist, should be playing with a lot of heart, Hardin said.
Weldon wore black socks to last year's game and did a lot of sliding and stealing, Faulkner said. All of this was "hilarious."
Cook said the action "should be real competitive. Anybody who comes out to watch and enjoy it - they would get a good show."
