Westchester County’s Aerin Frankel, starting goaltender for the 2026 USA Women’s Olympic hockey gold medal-winning team, will throw out one of the ceremonial first pitches at the Yankees’ Friday, April 3, home opener.
The team won gold on Feb. 19, defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime in Milan, Italy. It was U.S. women’s hockey’s third Olympic gold, winning the first in 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Frankel made 30 saves in the Olympic win. Frankel grew up in Briarcliff and attended Chappaqua schools, leaving for prep school — Minnesota’s Shattuck-Saint Mary’s School, where she starred as goaltender — after her freshman year at Horace Greeley.
Frankel was also U.S. starting goalie at the last three world championships, earning a gold, a silver and a gold.
Jack Hughes, overtime hero of the USA Men’s Olympic hockey gold medal-winning team, will throw out the other ceremonial first pitch at the Yankees’ home opener.
The Yankees open the homestand against the Miami Marlins at 1:35 p.m. at Yankee Stadium.
A giant American flag will be unfurled by Yankees season-ticket holders before the national anthem, which will be sung by Tony Award winner Nikki M. James, a news release said. The U.S. Army West Point Honor Guard will perform the presentation of colors.
During seventh-inning stretch, U.S. Army Sergeant Major Carla Loy Songwill sing “God Bless America” and the Yankees will honor U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sargeant Mayra Winnie, an Albany native, as the “veteran of the game,” according to the news release.
The Yankees on Saturday, April 4, at 7:05 p.m., and Sunday, April 5, at 1:35 p.m. will also play Miami, followed by a three-game series Tuesday, April 7, through Thursday, April 9, against the Athletics. The April 7 and 8 games will start at 7:05 p.m. The April 9 game is scheduled for 1:35 p.m.
The first 40,000 Guests in attendance at Saturday’s game against Miami will get a 2026 Yankees Calendar presented by Mastercard.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Aerin Frankel, Olympic hockey medalist, to throw out Yankees 1st pitch
Reporting by Michael P. McKinney, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
