Adams-Cheshire, Dalton-Hinsdale Square Off in Jimmy Fund Final
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| Emma Rozak of Pittsfield is recognized as the tournament's top individual fund-raiser. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Adams-Cheshire 10-year-old All-Stars were the big winners on the diamond in Thursday’s finale of the John Codey Jimmy Fund Classic at Belanger Field.
But while the victors pounded out 13 hits in a 19-3 win over Dalton-Hinsdale, the biggest blows of the week were struck against cancer.
For 35 years, Berkshire County youngsters have been raising money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and enjoying America’s pastime.
To date, the local event has raised more than $650,000 for the cause, including close to $15,000 from the four teams who participated at this month’s tournament, according to co-director Gildo DeSanctis.
After Thursday evening’s title game, Dalton-Hinsdale, a finalist on the field, was presented the banner for being the top dog in the equally important category of team fund-raising, where it collected more than $5,500.
A big chunk of that came from Weston Dietlen, who was recognized as the second-most successful fund-raiser in the tournament, bringing in about $1,900 so far.
He was edged by Pittsfield’s Emma Rozak.
Rozak is credited with collecting $2,368.75 – so far – for the Jimmy Fund, a cause she has been supporting since long before her baseball days.
Emma’s dad said that she has been raising money for the cause since she rode in a stroller in an event in Boston, where this year, she participated in a half-marathon walk for the Jimmy Fund.
All that experience has paid off. DeSanctis said that Emma currently is the No. 1 individual fund-raiser in the state this summer.
Dietlen is No. 5 in the state, and four individuals from the Berkshire County teams currently rank in the top 10. Dalton-Hinsdale, as a team, is currently No. 3 in the commonwealth.
The post-game ceremony honoring the top fund-raisers and tourney co-directors DeSanctis and Keith Lovellette gave the A-C and D-H 10U squads a chance to celebrate and take a victory lap together after an all-star season where they saw a lot of one another.
Adams-Cheshire came out on top in two meetings at the District 1 Tournament.
And it wasted no time taking a lead on Thursday night.
Danny Collins (2-for-3, three RBIs) hit a two-run double to highlight a five-run first inning for A-C.
D-H’s John Morrow took over on the mound with the bases loaded and nobody out but stopped the rally with three straight ground ball outs – all to catcher Theo Smith for force outs at the plate.
In the second inning, Adams-Cheshire tacked on three more runs without hitting the ball out of the infield.
And that looked to be plenty of run support for starting pitcher Caden Stump the way he was dealing on the mound. Stump finished two runs while striking out four in three innings of work before giving the ball to Bentley Martin to start the fourth.
D-H did reach Stump for a pair of runs in the third, when Graylan Milano and Morrow started with back-to-back singles, Murphy Duquette plated a run with an RBI groundout, and Dietlin dropped an RBI double into right field.
The two runs cut the deficit to six and gave Dalton-Hinsdale a little life. But Adams-Cheshire delivered a knockout blow in the third, scoring 11 times. Carmine Zocchi (2-for-2, three RBIs) had two RBI singles in the rally.
