Before he struck a walk-off home run with No. 6 on his back against the New York Yankees in the 2024 American League Championship Series, David Fry built four years’ worth of memories wearing No. 1 at Northwestern State.
Those accomplishments, which included the go-ahead home run that lifted the Demons to the first Southland Conference Tournament championship in program history, will be memorialized Jan. 25 when Fry’s No. 1 is retired at the Demons’ annual auction, set for 6 p.m. inside Prather Coliseum.
Fry’s jersey retirement ceremony will highlight the annual event, which includes a catered meal and the opportunity to bid on numerous auction items, including travel packages, sports memorabilia and more.
A four-year letterman from Colleyville, Texas, Fry was an All-American in 2018 when he helped the Demons capture the first Southland tournament crown in program history and reach an NCAA Regional for the first time in 13 years.
His solo home run leading off the seventh inning of the SLC Tournament championship game broke a 5-all tie and sent the Demons to the Corvallis Regional.
It also capped a season in which Fry was the Southland Conference Player of the Year, the All-Louisiana Hitter of the Year, the Southland Conference Tournament MVP and Northwestern’s first position player All-American in two decades.
A four-year starter who was named All-Southland Conference in each of his four seasons, Fry finished his career with school records in at-bats (851), doubles (74) and total bases (431) and shared the then-home run record of 31.
His 245 at-bats and 26 doubles in 2018 remain school single-season records while his 62 games played that season are tied for the most in school single-season history.
A seventh-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers, Fry was traded to the Cleveland Guardians and made his major league debut May 1, 2023. During his first full season at the MLB level, Fry was named an All-Star – becoming the first former Demon baseball player to do so.
Fry singled home a run in his first All-Star Game at-bat. In his first postseason, Fry delivered a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning of Game 4 of the American League Divisional Series at Detroit and added a pivotal RBI squeeze bunt in the ninth to keep the Guardians’ season alive.
Corporate sponsorships are available for $500 and include a reserved table with eight seats, a mention of the sponsor in the program insert, a verbal thank you during the event, an exclusive gift from the Northwestern State baseball team and premium event seating.
Individual seats are available for $25. Proceeds from the event benefit all areas of the Northwestern State baseball program, including the continuing improvements at Brown-Stroud Field.
For more information on becoming a corporate sponsor of the event, contact director of operations Mackenzie Fletcher at 985-302-1956.