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Hustle and Heart
Knights grind out win on emotional night
n BY DAN CAMPANA
They played for Ella. They played for Carlos.
One day after thousands of police officers paid their final re- spects to Officer Ella French, the Chicago Police Knights Base- ball Club closed out an emotion-packed week with a charity game against the Illinois State Police Troopers team at Impact Field in Rosemont.
The game was scheduled long before a gunman opened fire on French and her partner Carlos Yanez Jr. during an Aug. 7 traf- fic stop. Just 13 days later, on a warm Friday night, the Knights and Troopers took the field in front of an enthusiastic crowd of family, friends and police supporters as part of an important step forward.
“The guys understand first and foremost why we’re here and who we’re here for. Given what’s happened over the past cou- ple of weeks, it’s a bigger purpose than just playing baseball,” Knights President Eric Bermudez said. “When we have some- thing tragic happen within our department, we just come to- gether as a family. We use baseball as an outlet to kind of forget about everything, but at the same time, we use it to honor our fallen, our injured.”
And that, the Knights did. A jersey bearing French’s name and star number hung outside the third base dugout. Catcher Angel Cintron added French’s initials to his eye black. Baseballs inscribed with “Ella French #15013 E.O.W. 8.7.21” were tossed to fans in the stands.
As part of a pregame ceremony, the left field video board displayed French’s photo during a tribute to officers and state troopers who have been lost in the line of duty over the past two years. After throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Knights Vice President Marco Acevedo, Chicago Lodge 7 President John Catanzara took to the microphone as he livestreamed with a re- covering Yanez — a moment that drew loud applause and sup- portive chants for the injured officer.
Wearing a blue Ella French shirt beneath his No. 7 Knights jersey, Catanzara reflected on the emotional spectrum experi- enced by many.
“In the last 24 hours, we experienced absolutely the low of
A CPD Knights jersey bearing Ella French’s name hung outside the dugout during the game against the Illinois State Police. During the game, players threw out baseballs inscribed with her end-of-watch date to fans.
54 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2021