SIDNEY WOOD BAT TOURNAMENT

With a mixture of enthusiasm, pink wooden bats and pink shirts all stirred by an abundance of good will, the Sidney 12U baseball program and the Cheyenne County Community Center welcomed in five other teams to Legion Park for the Sidney Wood Bat Tournament over the weekend.

With more than just baseball on its mind, the wood bat tournament benefitted two worthy causes. The Sidney 12U program not only helped fund its own program, but also raised more than $400 for the Sidney Regional Medical Center Breast Cancer Fund.

The two-day tournament focussed its Saturday concessions and pink T-shirt sales to benefit the hospital. Additionally, half of the revenue generated from entry fees was donated to the breast cancer fund.

"It was a huge success," said tournament director John O'Rourke. "The feedback from those that came from out of town was really positive. We were also blessed with two days of perfect weather and able to raise some money for a good cause that's close to a lot of people in the community."

Before Sidney's game with Sandhills on Saturday evening, the team gathered at the pitching mound to present SRMC's Chief Financial Officer Kelly Utley with a check.

"Whenever we receive a donation, we always want to earmark it for whatever the donor has in mind," said Utley before the presentation. "Obviously a number of these kids have been personally affected by breast cancer.

"Their donation will help us with continued awareness and help us treat as many as we can right here so that people don't have to travel outside for their medical services. Of course, if they do have to go outside Sidney, then we can be better able to provide our patients with the right specialist," she added.

Though the players are not yet teenagers, many of them have already had to come face-to-face with breast cancer and how it can affect the lives of friends and family members. Emblazoned on the back of their pink uniform shirts were the names of someone they've known who has had breast cancer.

On the back of Cameron Leeling's jersey was written, "Dr. Shaw."

"(Cameron's) mom contacted me and asked me if it was OK to put my name on the back of his shirt since nobody in their family has been affected by breast cancer," said Dr. Mandy Shaw, who has been cancer-free for nearly three years now. "I was honored that they would have thought of me. This tournament is a wonderful idea, I'm so proud of them."

A number of the names featured on the back of the team jersey's hit very close to home. On Helton Mills' uniform was written "My Mom." Helton's dad, coach Ramsey Mills, had "My Best Friend" spelled out on his back. Other names included G-Ma Packer, Aunt Cheryl, S. Schroeder, Aunt Janine, Aunt Char, DaNelle, Grandma Menken, Grandma Mary, Brooke's Mom, Family and Mom & Kim.

Of course, the tournament was also about kids and baseball. Sidney won one of its three games – with one of its losses coming at the hands of tournament winner Torrington, Wyo.

All teams played with wooden bats instead of aluminum. Additionally, most of the bats were pink.

"The majority of the games were lower-scoring affairs than we're used to when we play with aluminum bats," O'Rourke said. "It was great listening to the kids talking in their dugouts. You'd see kids shaking their hands and laughing after feeling the sting of the wooden bat. It was a really fun experience.

"Hopefully next year, we can get a few of the other Sidney baseball programs involved too. That way we could draw more people and do that much more good for a worthy cause," O'Rourke added.

The first wood bat tourney in 2014 attracted three teams and grew to six teams this year. Already, O'Rourke has had commitments from the other five teams to return next year.