Sailors helped get festivities underway at the Syracuse Chiefs home game against the Louisville Bats as part of Navy Week Syracuse June 9.

A patriotic spectacle was put on before the first official pitch was thrown, with Sailors taking the field and lining the base paths for the opening ceremonies. The Navy celebration included Sailors throwing out the first pitch, USS Constitution Sailors providing the color guard and a Navy musician singing the National Anthem.

"It's awesome to have the Navy out for this event," said Jason Smorol, Syracuse Chiefs general manager. "When you see all of these Sailors out here in the uniform, knowing the sacrifices they make for our country, it really gets me."

Before the game kicked off, Sailors lined the entrance to NBT Bank Stadium so fans could meet and great with a Sailor on the way in. Fans were also encouraged to take a selfie with a Sailor and post it to social media with the hashtag #SelfieWithASailor.

"It's really special being out here and having the community behind you," said Operations Specialist 1st Class Sean Nelson. "When they announced us the crowd just erupted. It was really one of the special moments of my life."

Sailors stuck around to watch the ball game, interact with the crowd and take a moment to acknowledge the support of the people of Syracuse.

Navy Weeks are events held throughout the United States to help raise public awareness of the Navy in areas that are not typically exposed to a large naval presence.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.

For more information on Syracuse Navy Week and a full schedule visit http://www.syracuse.com/.

For more news from Navy Recruiting District Pittsburgh, visit http://www.navy.mil/.