Whether friend or foe, the softball community rallies behind its own in a time of need.
Such was the case on Saturday as the Ohio Varsity Vipers coordinated a Home Run Derby fundraiser for Dave Granchi, the club director of the Ohio Cobras, who was diagnosed earlier this year with colon cancer.
Nearly 15 different travel clubs and hundreds of people from around the area participated in the event, which raised $25,553.
“That was way more than we expected,” said Vipers director Jo Bondra. “That just shows how quickly people in softball can come together and support somebody else. We had 15 different organizations that were represented, which is a cool thing. It shows that no matter who you play for or where you come from, everybody was there to support someone in need in the softball community.”
Area players were invited to solicit donations for the home run derby.
A player earned one swing for every $5 raised and prizes were awarded to the top home run hitters in each age group.
McKenna Fiederer of the Cobras was the home run king in the 10U age group. She hit 25 dingers. Julia Harvey of the Vipers and Camile Corlette of the Cobras hit 64 homers to tie for the win in the 12U age group. Kennidie Rogers of Pennsylvania hit 51 home runs to win the 14U age group, and Maggie Corlette of the Cobras hit 22 homers to win the 16/18U division.
The Willoughby Starzz made the single largest donation of $4,000 and Nissan of Mentor also contributed $1,000 to the cause.
Following the event, Coach Granchi sent an email to the participants thanking them and also pointing out the value of the softball community taking care of its own.
Coach Granchi first thanked the players for attending and then described his relationship with Coach Bondra, who coordinated the event.
“Coach Jo and I have a relationship built on respect,” Granchi wrote. “Coach Jo is head of Ohio Varsity Vipers and the head coach at Mentor High School. I am head of the Ohio Cobras organization. We know each other through softball. We do not hang out, we will text now and then about softball. I tell you this because I want to make sure you understand that no matter who you play for, you are part of this softball community that is very special.”
Granchi encouraged the players to remember that despite the rivalries that may exist within the sport, the community as a whole is more important than individual wins and losses.
“As you all go through your careers as softball players, support each other,” he wrote. “When someone you know wins a tournament or hits a home run or pitches a great game or makes their high school team or signs with a college down the road, congratulate them! That’s what we do in the softball community and we need to continue doing things like what Coach Bondra did for me today. Appreciate and respect each other.”
Granchi’s daughter is a freshman at Riverside.
Mentor and Riverside are rivals, but that didn’t stop Bondra from rallying the community around Coach Granchi.
“He’s done a really good job and his teams are really competitive,” Bondra said. “Riverside is our biggest rival at Mentor and the Cobras are a big rival for the Vipers, but in a time like this, that doesn’t matter that we run different organizations. When something like this comes up, everyone comes together, which is the cool part.”
