FAIRHOPE, Ala. —For baseball families, 'Home-Plate' is where the heart is. For Stu Fuller and family this time of year always reminds them that good things can happen when the plate's strike zone is community wide.

The Fairhope Pirates will host the fourth Heart Health Game Wednesday at Volanta Park against Auburn at 6 p.m.

Proceeds from the event benefit Thomas Hospital’s Heart Center which successfully treated Fairhope head coach Stu Fuller for a cardiovascular condition discovered in 2011.

Fuller credits the Heart Center at Thomas for providing the rapid diagnosis and state-of-the-art treatment needed without delay close to home.

“I was blessed with great doctors and a great facility at Thomas Hospital,” he said. “Because someone made a donation to start the ball rolling I was able to have the required medical procedures right in my home town.”

The Heart Center opened in 2002 after a $3 million gift from the Thomas Hospital Foundation to make it the only hospital in Baldwin County to offer open-heart surgery.

Fuller said the yearly game was a way to help keep that ball rolling for Thomas Hospital Foundation - Heart Health. The Pirates hosted Spanish Fort the first year.

It also a chance to donate blood and score a 'SAC Pint'. According to: FairhopeHS.com every pint of blood donated can benefit up to up to three people in need and all blood collected at the 701 Volanta Avenue site on Wednesday will stay in the community.

The baseball program is also selling umbrellas to help raise money for Heart Health. The umbrellas are $20 each. If interested contact Jeana Barnes at 251-279 1517 or email her at: jeana.barnes@infirmaryhealth.org