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Local sensation and MMA pioneer Jesse Finney and STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight Championship Challenger Brett Rogers will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday's St. Louis Cardinals game against the Houston Astros at 12:40 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium.

Immediately following the game, four STRIKEFORCE star fighters will participate in an autograph signing session at The Outfield at Mike Shannon's from 4 - 6 p.m. CT. The Outfield at Mike Shannon's is located at 620 Market Street in St. Louis, MO 63101. Participating in the event will be undefeated STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion "King Mo" Lawal, unbeaten light heavyweight rising star Roger Gracie, former STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral and heavyweight superstar Fabricio Werdum, who will be facing the number one fighter in the world - Fedor Emelianenko - in the live, SHOWTIME(r) televised main event from San Jose, California's HP Pavilion on Saturday, June 26.

Knockout artist Rogers (10-1) will take on STRIKEFORCE World Heavyweight
Champ Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem (32-11) in the main event of
Saturday's STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery event at Scottrade
Center in St. Louis, Mo. Finney (5-0), a local promoter and gym owner,
will face Justin DeMoney, of Ottumwa, Iowa, (13-2-2) on the event's
non-televised undercard.



Tickets are on sale at the Scottrade Center ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online http://www.ticketmaster.com and STRIKEFORCE's official website http://www.strikeforce.com. Doors at Scottrade Center will open at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, May 15 with the first non-televised preliminary bout beginning at 6:30 p.m.The event will be televised live on SHOWTIME(r) at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Photos Courtesy of Bob Barton


STRIKEFORCE stars Brett Rogers and Jesse Finney (in Cardinals' jersey) threw out the ceremonial first pitches before Thursday's Cardinals-Houston Astros game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Both fighters will be in featured bouts Saturday during the eagerly anticipated "STRIKEFORCE St. Louis: Heavy Artillery'' MMA event at Scottrade Center live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).

A stacked 13-bout card will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT. Doors open at 6 o’ clock. Tickets are on sale at Scottrade Center ticket office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online http://www.ticketmaster.com and STRIKEFORCE’s official website http://www.strikeforce.com.




Finney (left) looks on as Rogers delivers. "I was saving my right hand and arm for Saturday night (when Rogers challenges defending champion Alistair Overeem for the STRIKEFORCE Heavyweight Championship in the main event),'' Brett said, "but I think I still was clocked at around 92 mph. This was a great thrill, nerve-racking, but very exciting.''





Finney, who faces Justin DeMoney in the top undercard bout Saturday, gets ready to unleash a fastball. "I grew up playing baseball and played college ball so this is a dream come true,'' Finney said. "St. Louis is a great baseball town so for me to be able to throw out the first pitch is something I will never forget.''





Cardinals superstar Albert Pujols poses with Finney.





Murderer's Row? Finney, STRIKEFORCE's Mike Afromowitz, Rogers, and Rogers' coach, Mike Reilly, gather for a group shot.





Finney (left) and Rogers had a ball Thursday.





Finney and Rogers check out the Cardinals' mascot, who attempts to deliver a knee.