Michael Recca, one of the organizers of the second annual Big Bat Bopper Tournament that took place June 10 at the Pelham Memorial High Scool, said the tournament raised $56,639.50 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The tournament is held in memory Aaron Samuel Rossman, Pelham residents who lost his life to the disease in November of 2010 at the age 22.
Proceeds from the event will be used to fund research for cystic fibrosis, a chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. The disease can lead to life-threatening lung infections and impede the body’s ability to break down food.
About 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis are diagnosed each year and the predicted median age of survival for a person with the disease is the late 30s, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Big Bat Bopper Baseball is a game that combines kickball, cricket and baseball, is believed to have been invented by PMHS physical education teachers back in 2004. It was one of Rossman’s favorite games.
The tournament raised $52,451 last year and Recca is hopeful a few more hundred dollars can be raised to bring the two-year total $110,000.
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