Annual fundraising softball event to be played at Fisher Field
Published 10:50 am Monday, June 19, 2017
The Rocky Bennett Memorial Softball Tournament will be hosted at Fisher Field in Buchanan Saturday.
The event raises money to help those in need and is hosted in memory of Susan Derrow’s son Rocky, who was killed in a car accident March 3, 2014.
Bennett, who was a Buchanan resident and a 2013 Brandywine High School graduate, was 20 at the time.
He and Tony Olmstead were stopped at Third and US-12 when a distracted truck driver rear-ended their vehicle at 55 mph. Rocky died a few hours after the accident. Olmstead sustained back and head injuries.
Last year, the tournament proceeds went to Larry Shelton of Fremont, Indiana, Derrow’s father.
Shelton was the subject of a “silver alert” and was missing for 36 hours before being found at St. Joseph Hospital in Mishawaka. Due to complications that required a pair of additional surgeries, he was left in debt, according to Derrow.
Money was also donated from last year’s tournament to a child battling cancer and a toddler’s college fund whose father was killed in a car accident, while the previous year, the tournament gave money to a mother who had severe complications from surgery.
“Rocky’s passion was playing softball,” Derrow said. “He loved the sport.”
Play will begin at 8 a.m. At 10 a.m. the Buchanan city Fire Department, of which John Bennett is a member, will hang the American Flag from its ladder truck while the “National Anthem” is sung by Benton Harbor’s Courtney Craft.
A prayer written by Nikki Deboer, who is unable to attend, will be read.
Teams playing in this year’s event are Rocky’s Rockstars, D Mottl Realty, Kayla Brew, Buchanan City Fire Department, Barnaby’s, Cruel Intentions, I’d Hit That, Journeymen, Avengers and Bad & Boujee.
There will be a concession stand, a 50/50 drawing and a home run derby.
Players each paid $10 to play. The cost to enter the home run derby is $10. Rocky bracelets will be sold for $1. Shirts and hoodies printed by Impressive Lettering of Buchanan will also be for sale. Can koozies are also available for $2.
Derrow said that Stephen “Cheech” Lentsch and Wendy Cauffman have been invaluable.
“I could not do this without them,” she said.