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All of Isle of Wight County is invited to come out to the Windsor Athletic Association Complex on Friday evening, May 9, for a baseball-themed fundraising event designed to show love and long-term support for Carson Pierce, a beloved member of the community who is recovering from a serious September car accident that left him in critical condition.

His mother, Melissa Pierce, noted that he sustained three skull fractures, a clavicle fracture, a compression fracture in his T5 vertebra, a partially torn ligament in his neck, and he was diagnosed as having a severe traumatic brain injury.

The unfortunate standard with serious brain injuries is that the road to recovery is one of uncertain length, but Carson, who turned 20 in October, has made notable strides and has benefited from the continuing support of the Windsor community.

Baseball being the focus of the May 9 fundraiser is fitting given Pierce’s longtime involvement in the sport, both within the Windsor Athletic Association and at Windsor High School.

Mike Luter, a prominent area businessman and friend to Pierce, has been his baseball coach, employer and coordinator in volunteer work, and Luter is organizing the May 9 event, which is known as the County Clash Baseball Fundraiser.

“Our primary goal is to pretty much wrap our arms around Carson Pierce and his family and let them know that they are not by themselves, that they are not in this fight alone, that as a community and as a county, we are in the fight with them,” Luter said.

The fundraiser’s featured event will be a game between the varsity baseball teams from Windsor High and Isle of Wight Academy.

“It’s a sanctioned game, so it matters for both teams,” Luter said. “We got that done through the Virginia High School League.”

The Dukes are led by Head Coach Ray Lowe, and leading the Chargers is Head Coach Austin Winkles.

The game will start at 7 p.m., but the gates to the complex at 10333 Five Forks Road in Windsor will open at 5 p.m.

Other features of the fundraiser will include multiple food trucks, ice cream and a barbecue put on by several parents.

“So we’ll have a full-blown meal,” Luter said.

There will be a 50/50 raffle and also booths manned by area businesses that donated funds.

Luter noted that a playground is also located nearby, providing an outlet for families with children attending.

He emphasized that the fundraiser is intended to be a countywide event.

“Our goal is to appeal to everybody in Isle of Wight County that has some sort of connection with Windsor High School or Isle of Wight Academy who will come to support this,” he said. “Alumni of both schools would be fantastic.”

He noted that in order to raise as much money as possible and as much awareness, he and fellow organizers want “to appeal to the entire county and hopefully have everyone come together for a night of competition but also camaraderie within the county.”

He said a lot of businesses are donating funds, and there have been a lot of anonymous sponsors as well.

“The unique thing about this event, too, is 100% of the proceeds anybody gives to this goes directly to Carson,” he said, “because we have someone who has stepped up and anonymously said they’re going to cover all the costs of the event, which that would be everything from the food to the speakers to the field, etc.”

Luter conveyed a great deal of appreciation for TowneBank, which is the presenting sponsor of the County Clash Baseball Fundraiser.

JoAnne Joyner, TowneBank senior vice president and branch manager of its Windsor branch, said, “TowneBank is just honored to support this Clash. Carson’s story has touched our hearts, as he’s endured a long recuperation and rehabilitation from his injuries in that car accident.”

Luter approached TowneBank about sponsoring the fundraiser, and he said the bank responded quickly. He made a point to outline the purpose of the event to bank officials.

“We’re not just raising money for a short period of time,” he said. “We’re raising money for a trust to help with Carson long term.”

Luter said that long-term vision is what really grabbed the attention of TowneBank’s leadership, along with the understanding that every dollar at the fundraiser would be going directly to Carson.

Joyner noted that it is very much in the character of the bank to help out.

“TowneBank was founded in 1999, and they have helped hundreds of local charitable organizations with donations, scholarships and grants over the last 26 years,” she said. “In fact, TowneBank has contributed more than $126 million to the communities in which we serve, and so we’re just honored to be able to do that and to support this event in the community that we serve our members in.”

Luter indicated that the level of support in the community for Carson and his family is a testament to the quality of young man he is.

Reiterating the ultimate goal of the County Clash, Luter said it was “to raise money to help (Carson) with his recovery and also to wrap our arms around the Pierce family, let them know that we love them, that we support them and that we’ll be here from now to the time that Carson is back climbing poles and working as an (electrical) lineman, which is what he went to school for.”