Congrats to Jesse Cole and Emily McDonald of the Gastonia Grizzlies (summer collegiate; Coastal Plain League), a quintessential baseball couple who tied the knot Saturday at the team’s home, Sims Legion Park.
If you’ve been regularly reading Ballpark Digest over the years, you know their story. Cole purchased the Grizzlies from Ken Silver last fall and is launching a new Coastal Plain League team next season in Savannah, Georgia. McDonald is Director of Fun for the Grizzlies who worked for the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern League), Ripken Baseball in Augusta and the Vermont Lake Monsters (short season A; NY-Penn League) before landing in Gastonia. The pair met at a baseball function — MiLB’s Promotional Seminar — and the relationship blossomed over time. Heck, Cole even proposed to McDonald before a sell-out crowd at Sims Legion Park.
Met @jcolebaseball at @PromoSeminar 5 years ago! Getting married next week but couldn’t miss #MiLBPS @GastoniaGrizz pic.twitter.com/sQEDzDj5nf
— Emily McDonald (@EmMcDFun) October 1, 2015
So a wedding at Sims Legion Park made perfect sense. From the Gaston Gazette:
Cole said the community has been supportive of the team and the couple. After he popped the question last year at a sold out game, he says the two haven’t been to a game without being asked about wedding plans.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “This is our home, and the community has really embraced us.”
Fans even chose the newlyweds honeymoon through an online poll. The Coles set off for Punta Cana after the wedding.
Congrats to the both of them.
Image courtesy of Josh Teeple Photography.