MANCHESTER — Police officer Daniel Doherty, a former left-handed catcher, stood on the mound and fired a ceremonial strike Thursday night with the Fisher Cats.

The blond-haired southpaw attended his first baseball game since being shot multiple times in a March gunfight on Manchester's West Side. The 26-year-old Doherty, joined by dozens of officers on Law Enforcement Night, put a smile on everyone's face at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

“It's a special invitation. It's nice to see all my fellow brothers,” said Doherty, a former youth baseball and hockey player in the Boston area. “These are the nights we think most about our officers and remember how great they were as people and how valuable they were to the community.”

Greenland police officer Wayne Young also toed the rubber and threw a pitch in pregame. Young aired out a fastball (over the head of batboy/catcher Jimmy Hall) on behalf of Greenland Police Chief Mike Maloney, shot to death in the line of duty April 12.

Doherty walked with a cane and sat on a police motorcycle as the Fisher Cats prepared to take on the Reading Phillies. When told he was young enough to play for Double-A New Hampshire, Doherty joked, “I'm an old 26.”

On March 21, Doherty responded to a reports of an armed man and was shot four times, taking bullets to the abdomen, pelvis and left leg. Myles Webster, 22, of Litchfield faces charges of attempted murder. For Doherty, a perfect night for baseball didn't erase flashbacks of the gunfight.

“I think about it daily, hourly. I always think what could've happened. I'm glad to be here now,” said Doherty, who thanked the staff at Catholic Medical Center and said he is getting stronger by the week.

As he spoke, several officers motorcycled around the warning track and parked behind home plate. When Doherty saw a Greenland officer rumble past, his voice cracked. Maloney wasn't there.

“It's an emotional thing seeing that, knowing we lost a brother not too long ago. That hits home,” Doherty said.

During the game, officers, families and undercover agents gathered upstairs in a suite. Tara Laurent, the new Greenland police chief, sensed a much-needed night of healing for her department.

“It's like each day is one step closer to being able to move on while remembering and not hurting. Tonight is the first time it hasn't been full of pain for my officers,” Laurent said. “It's a lot lighter than past events. The mood is much happier.”

Gov. John Lynch humbly accepted the Michael Briggs Community Hero Award and told a crowd of 4,191 that it was a night to shake the hand of any law officer at the stadium.

Game-used jerseys were auctioned, with proceeds benefiting the Manchester Police Athletic League. Proceeds from ticket sales benefitted the officers directly involved in the Manchester and Greenland incidents, including officers from the Manchester, Greenland, Dover, Rochester, Newmarket and University of New Hampshire police departments.

“It's a privilege to have nights like this when we can bring people together and recognize the heroes within our community and raise some money for charity and really pay attention to what's important every day,” Fisher Cats president Rick Brenner said.

In 2007, the Fisher Cats retired badge No. 83 in honor of fallen Manchester police officer Michael Briggs and raised money for several charities, including the Bruce McKay Family Fund in honor of the Franconia police officer killed on the job.

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Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com.