Final South Bend Clay softball tournament to raise funds for several types of cancer
SOUTH BEND — The annual South Bend Clay softball tournament has always been special for coach Katie Rodriguez.
What started as a fundraiser for her son, Gabe, battling childhood leukemia in 2016 is reaching its final iteration Saturday, given Clay High School is shutting down at the end of the school year.
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“I still get emotional because I’ve gotten so much love and support the whole time I’ve been coaching at Clay,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been coaching for 14 years and I’ve received so much love and support from the softball community. And also, people have been so kind to us that I want to give back to those that need it the most.”
Once again, the tournament will raise money for cancer research. In years past, all proceeds have gone toward one cause, whether it be Gabe — who is now 10 years old — or someone else in the community. This year, though, each of the eight teams will be playing for a different type of cancer that has affected someone within the program.
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The teams will be wearing shirts that are the color that each type of cancer awareness represents. For example, Clay is wearing dark blue, which is the color for colon cancer. They chose this because one of the Colonials player’s grandparents died of colon cancer, so they will be honoring him with their jerseys.
A silent auction will be held throughout the event, with the money raised being split evenly between the eight teams to donate to their respective causes. All the teams will be bringing a basket full of toys to donate to the Pediatric Hematology Oncology floor at Memorial Hospital in South Bend as well.
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Joining Clay this year are South Bend Adams, Mishawaka Marian, New Prairie, Andrean, North Central (Indianapolis) and two nearby Michigan schools in Buchanan and Edwardsburg. According to Rodriguez, Edwardsburg, Marian and Andrean have played in the tournament every year.
Each team will play three games, all taking place at the Byers Softball Complex, 1300 Mayflower Road, South Bend. An opening ceremony will start at 10:15 a.m. with each team throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in honor of who they’re playing for.
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The 10:30 a.m. games are Clay vs. Buchanan, Edwardsburg vs. Andrean, Adams vs. Marian and New Prairie vs. North Central (Indianapolis). At 12:30 p.m., Clay faces North Central, Edwardsburg takes on Marian, Adams battles Buchanan and New Prairie squares off with Andrean.
And finally, at 3 p.m., it’ll be Clay vs. Marian, Andrean vs. North Central, Adams vs. Edwardsburg and New Prairie vs. Buchanan.
Although the Clay tournament will cease to exist after this year, Rodriguez is hoping to stay involved with a cause close to her heart.
“It stinks that they’re closing our high school because this is a huge benefit for people involved,” Rodriguez said. “Maybe next year, even if I’m not coaching, I can still help or do another tournament to help raise awareness for cancer and be able to give back to the community.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Final South Bend Clay softball tournament to raise funds for cancer
