Elizabeth City State took a major-league approach to celebrating the 25th anniversary of the revival of its baseball program when it selected Wayne Gomes to be the main speaker at a fund-raiser Thursday night.

Gomes, a Hampton, Va., native, had a six-year major league career with the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. And until Justin Verlander came along, Gomes, the fourth player selected in the 1993 major league draft, was the most successful player who ever wore an Old Dominion University baseball uniform.

“Wayne’s outstanding to have for our first big fundraiser,” said ECSU baseball coach Terrance Whittle prior to the start of the inaugural 1st Pitch Gala at the

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K.E. White Graduate Center. “He’s an energetic guy who is very positive and focused and he will have a lot of good things to say,”

Gomes, who runs the Virginia Baseball Academy in Hampton, said he jumped at the opportunity when he was invited to speak by Whittle, who has known him for years through baseball schools and clinics both have worked.

“I’m pretty busy and don’t get as many chances as I’d like to talk to young men,” he said. “The timing was perfect because the team opens its season Saturday.”

Among the 100 or so people in attendance was the ECSU baseball team. Gomes said his speech was directed mostly at the Vikings.

“I’m going to tell them to work hard, that they have a great opportunity,” he said. “They need to take advantage of it.

“I’ll tell them about my life experiences and how I got where I did. So many people have spoken to me and I have taken bits and pieces from all of them over the years and I want to pass along what I’ve learned.”

Whittle was excited about the event.

“This is helping to recognize the 25th anniversary of bringing back baseball in 1987 and is also on the cusp of the ground-breaking initiative for our new baseball field last fall,” he said. “We hope that this will be the catalyst for a 1st Pitch Gala that will get bigger and better.

“It will become a resource for us as we get our new field and become an extension for youth baseball in Elizabeth City and the northeastern North Carolina area.

“Wayne has been involved in youth programs, reviving baseball in the city. So having him here on board with us gives us a lot of credibility.”

Whittle said he hopes to have the new baseball field completed in time for the 2013 season.

“We’re in the irrigation stages and getting the fences, we just need some more funds to get moving on it,” he said.