7th Annual Conor Dillon Memorial Golf Tournament
PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Former Pittsfield High School baseball standout and current Tampa Bay Ray prospect Matt Torra will again be the host for the 7th Annual Conor Dillon Memorial Golf Tournament.This year’s shotgun scramble – sponsored by The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank – will be played on Saturday, October 1st, at the Waubeeka Golf Links in Williamstown, MA. Torra and friends are continuing their fundraising efforts on behalf of the Pittsfield Little Leagues and the Girls’ Softball League.
Play will begin at 10:30 am. A foursome (includes fees, carts, lunch and dinner) costs only $480 if paid in full by September 15 ($520 after that date). Sponsorship opportunities range from $50 to $400.
Spots in the tournament are again filling up quickly this year. The event’s Official Registration is available at www.pittsfieldcoop.com.
The tourney has donated over $40,000 in the past six years to fund the sandlot needs of our local youth. This past fall, over $12,500 was raised and used to buy – among more traditional items like bats, balls and bases – a hot water heater and slush machine for the South Little League concession stand plus bullpen fencing, bleachers and a batting cage net for the West Little League. And, participants in the Girls Softball League this spring honed their batting eyes with the use of a new fast-pitch batting machine as well as a new soft toss system.
Besides the lights, lawn mowers, tarps, scoreboards and other initiatives to improve the local playing fields over the years, the tournament has also established a scholarship fund for students of the culinary arts – a passion of Torra’s childhood friend Conor Dillon for whom the tournament is named.
“The Little League baseball diamonds throughout the city of Pittsfield was where I wanted to hang out as a kid. That was the first uniform I dreamed about putting on. And, win or lose, the concession stand was our post game destination to dissect the action and enjoy a hot dog and soda,” said Torra, traded just last week to the Tampa Bay Rays’ organization and now performing with their Triple A affiliate in Durham (the International League).
“I am glad that playing professional ball has afforded me the opportunity to help maintain those same fields so that today’s young ballplayers can create memories of their own,” added the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 2005 first round draft choice out of the University of Massachusetts.
“And, not all dreams are staged on the ballfield. The fact that our golf tournament honors the memory of my friend Conor and provides funds for young men and women to pursue careers in the culinary arts – as he would have wanted to do – gives me great satisfaction,” continued Torra, who hit .397 with a 6-4 record and a 1.32 ERA as a third baseman/pitcher during his senior year at Pittsfield High.
The hard-throwing right-hander is hopeful that the recent trade will quicken his ascent to the major leagues. He has started 16 games this year (all but one with Diamondbacks’ Triple A Reno affiliate in the Pacific Coast League) and has a combined 4-2 record with 45 strikeouts in 91 innings pitched.
Torra finished the 2010 campaign with an 11-7 record and a 4.43 ERA in 28 starts with Reno. His 183 innings pitched led all minor league pitchers at every level of play.
“Matt Torra’s success story is more than just a tale of a local boy who made good use of a great right arm. His parents, Jim and Patricia, clearly raised a young man of tremendous character,” noted Jay Anderson, President & CEO of The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank – the presenting sponsor of the tournament. “His desire to give back to the community embodies the principles on which this institution was founded.”
“When Matt cracks the Tamp Bay Rays’ pitching rotation, it will create great fanfare here in the Berkshires. But, to hundreds of local boys and girls, he’s been a hero for a long time,” concluded Anderson, himself a Pittsfield native.
Those interested in participating in the 7th Annual Conor Dillon Memorial Golf Tournament as a sponsor or as a part of a foursome can contact Torra’s agency representative Steve McKelvey at (413) 237-3446.
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