The Italian American Baseball Foundation had another incredible and impactful Italian Heritage Night at Nationals Park.

The headline story: more than 1,000 tickets were sold for the event, the most yet and another increase for the third consecutive year! Each fan received a beautifully designed green, white, and red jersey giveaway with the silhouette of Italy on the back and the Italian flag on the sleeve.

Another new fam experience this year: Nationals GM and past IABF honoree Mike Rizzo gave a pre-game Q&A about his Italian heritage. He later met on the field with IABF trustee Chris Vaccaro and advisory board member Lou Bernardi. In another great connection on the evening, they met with DBacks manager and past IABF honoree Torey Lovullo during batting practice.

U.S. Navy Admiral Sinclair Harris and Brigadier General Joseph R. Clearfield, the Senior Military Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, joined Vaccaro and Bernardi.

IABF was featured on the big screen during the game. A percentage of proceeds from the game support the IABF Scholarship Fund.