Port Washington Baseball Hosts Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser

Gregory Giaconelli
Port Washington varsity baseball head coach Matt Holzer, Port Washington Baseball Booster Club president Rick Delmonte, treasurer Georgine Hertzwig and assistant coach Phil Spotteck (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)

For the sixth consecutive season, Port Washington’s baseball teams squared off against all three of Mineola’s squads for their prestigious Strike Out Cancer fundraiser on Saturday, April 22.

Head Coach Matt Holzer, assistant coach Phil Spotteck and the 2017 Port Washington varsity baseball team (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)
Head coach Matt Holzer, assistant coach Phil Spotteck and the 2017 Port Washington varsity baseball team (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)

Port Washington varsity head coach Matt Holzer said the event was created to raise awareness and money for cancer research.

“I think everybody has been impacted by cancer at some point in their lives,” Holzer said. “It’s an easy cause to get behind and raise money for. It teaches our kids to give back to the community and do some good for something bigger than ourselves.”

The Port Washington baseball clubs have helped raise thousands of dollars for the American Cancer Society in the past five seasons during the Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser.

The varsity teams started off the day with a 10: 30 a.m. game, followed by the eighth grade game at 1:15 p.m. and then the junior varsity match-up, which concluded the festivities at 4 p.m.

Each game was played on their new field at Schreiber High School, which includes a new turf field, scoreboard, fences and bullpen and batting cage area.

Throughout the day, parents volunteered to BBQ for the teams while other refreshments, desserts and baseball merchandise were available for purchase.

In it’s fourth season, the Port Washington Baseball Booster Club has been instrumental in helping the team fund-raise for equipment and special events, including the Strike Out Cancer Fundraiser.

Port Washington Baseball Booster Club Vice President Ed Esposito, community resident Adrienne Thomson, treasurer Georgine Hertzwig, and president Rick Delmonte (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)
Port Washington Baseball Booster Club vice president Ed Esposito, community resident Adrienne Thomson, treasurer Georgine Hertzwig, and president Rick Delmonte (Photo by Gregory Giaconelli)

Booster Club president Rick Delmonte said it was a long time coming for getting the new field, since the school has not had their own home field to play on for about 13 years.

“This was our opening day,” Delmonte said. “That is the most fantastic thing this community has had in a long time and it brings a lot of people together to raise money for cancer research. It’s a good day for Port Washington.”

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