US Congressional Baseball Game to Honor Charities

The U.S. Congressional Baseball Game is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. (2305 UTC) Thursday, despite an ambush of Republican lawmakers at a baseball practice field in Alexandria, Virginia, the day before.

Four people were injured in the shooting on Wednesday, including Congressman Steve Scalise, who was in critical condition at a Washington-area hospital on Thursday. Also shot were a congressional aide, a lobbyist and a Capitol Police officer.

The game is a long-standing summer tradition in Washington, with teams of Republican and Democratic lawmakers competing on the ball field, even in present times, when fractious political debates are the norm.

Congressional members decided Wednesday that the game would be played Thursday as scheduled, with one change. Instead of being played on the ball field in Virginia, it will now be held at Nationals Park in Washington.

"The members of Congress, the staff and the volunteers who were out at practice this morning care deeply about the causes they play to benefit," game organizers said in a statement released Wednesday. "We believe the best way to honor them is to play the game as scheduled tomorrow night."

Both teams will wear Louisiana State University uniforms in honor of Scalise, a representative from the state and fan of the school's athletics teams, known as the Tigers.

President Donald Trump will not attend the charity game due to the lack of time to arrange security.

The game is a fundraiser for charities. This year, money is being raised for the Washington Literacy Center, The Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation and The Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

Scalise, the third highest-ranking Republican in the House, is given a security detail. On Wednesday, Capitol Police officers David Bailey and Crystal Grines were at the Alexandria ballfield with Scalise and have been credited with stopping the gunman, James Hodgkinson. Both officers were injured in the shooting.

The game can be seen in a livestream available through the Congressional Baseball Game's Facebook page. It will also be shown on C-SPAN.

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