It’s a busy weekend for Ashley Aven.

As you might remember, Ashley is the 18-year-old Meadowdale High School student and softball player waging a brave battle against acute myeloid leukemia, a rare but terminal cancer. We wrote about her last month, and the Everett Herald and Seattle Times recently did  in-depth stories.

When former Mariner Jay Buhner read about Ashley’s story he got in touch with the Aven family. Bill Aven says Buhner offered them two box suites and 80 tickets for friends and family to Sunday’s home game against the Texas Rangers. But he didn’t stop there.

“Jay Buhner met us at Children’s Hospital to give us the tickets and hung out with Ashley for a good hour during her transfusion. After he had left he called her back and asked how her throwing arm was, then asked her to throw out the first pitch of the game,” Bill told me.

Ashley will take to the mound before the 1:10 p.m. game on Sunday. She’s also scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the University of Washington versus Stanford softball game on May 8.

“She is kinda overwhelmed right now but thinks this is all pretty cool,” Bill said.

There’s also a fundraiser Saturday evening to help relieve some of the financial burden for the Aven family. It’s at Glazed and Amazed pottery studio in Edmonds (514 Main Street) from 5 – 9 p.m. If you can’t make it to the fundraiser you can donate to the Ashley K. Aven Foundation at any Wells Fargo branch. And you can follow Ashley’s story at www.caringbridge.org/visit/ashleykealohaaven.