Millersville, Pa. – Every year, Millersville's softball team raises money to benefit a good cause but this year, the event gets personal. The Marauder softball team is raising money during Saturday's pair of games to benefit research for Multiple Sclerosis (MS). One of the team's players, outfielder Ginely Ortiz-Marrero, has been diagnosed with MS, making the money the Marauders can raise that much more special.

"I'm really thankful that they're being so supportive, they have helped me a lot through this hard time," Ortiz-Marrero said. "My teammates being there for me has really helped me go through it. It's not the best to have this condition, but it's been a great experience to know that people are really there for me. Before, my teammates were strangers to me, but now they are like family, so it's been really nice."

Ortiz-Marrero found out about a year ago that she had MS through harsh cramping in her arm when she was at Lackawanna College. By the end of the week with the cramping feeling still remaining and losing control of the left side of her body, she determined that the feeling was not normal and had it checked out, which was when the doctors diagnosed her with MS. She has daily injections that she has to take to fight the disease, which she says will never be fully cured, but will be one with which she lives the rest of her life.

"I have normal cramps, but as the time goes on, it just gets worse," Ortiz-Marrero said, explaining her daily battle with the horrific disease. "You just don't have control and feel the different temperatures of your hands and you can't really work with it. The disease is really just all over the place in terms of symptoms. Initially, I was having trouble with my left side and walking with my left side and my level of fatigue gets really high, so sometimes I just have to sit down and take a break."

But the junior outfielder knows she is privileged to be able to still play the game she loves with the disease. "I have to say that I am really grateful, because I know there are people out there that are worse than me," said Ortiz-Marrero. "I thank God that I have my two hands and my two legs and am able to move. As far as playing softball, the really challenging part is my fatigue level, especially with the warm weather. But I still really love softball and I love playing so I still have to be thankful because I can still do something I love."
 
During Saturday's doubleheader against Mansfield University, an informational and donation table will be set up, and the team will sell t-shirts with the design above. All of the donations and t-shirt sale proceeds will go to the National MS Society.
 
The team's goal is to raise $2,000 for the cause, and a donation website has also been set up for those that cannot make it to Saturday's games, and the team has already raised an amazing $1,550. You can visit that site right here.

Ortiz-Marrero said it would mean a great deal to her to have the team reach its goal of $2,000 not only for herself, but also for everyone else around the world afflicted with the same disease. "The disease is not pretty, but knowing there are people out there who can make living with this disease easier for people like me and everyone else who has it is really great to see."

There is also a site for those that cannot make it to the games but would like to purchase a t-shirt. You can purchase t-shirts at that website right here. The team is selling both long and short sleeve t-shirts. The long sleeve shirts are being sold for $20, and the short sleeve t-shirts are priced at $15. Sizes range from Youth Medium to Adult XXX-Large. Both shirts are gray.

Since there is no current cure for MS, the money raised Saturday will go toward current research being done to find a cause of MS in those that have it, better forms of treatment of MS and eventually and hopefully, the cure of the disease. The National MS Society says that Multiple Sclerosis affects people in the prime of their lives, between the ages of 20 and 50.

Every hour, someone is newly diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and more than 2.5 million people worldwide live with this unpredictable disease. The symptoms of MS are different for everyone, but the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day. You can find more out about the disease on the National MS Society's website right here.

The doubleheader against the Mountaineers Saturday begins at 1 p.m., so come out, cheer on your Marauders, and support a good cause!