Baseball teams headed to American Field on Saturday, March 27 to participate in the Del Rey America Little League’s (DRALL) Hit-A-Thon and Home Run Derby to help raise money for the league.
More than 125 players, as well as a few coaches and managers, battled it out to see who could hit the ball the furthest in the younger divisions and who could hit the most home runs in the Majors division, to the delight of parents and teammates who were eager to participate in this tradition.
The Home Run Derby came down to a nail-biter finish as the top two hitters headed into extra rounds. In the end, the Yankee’s Julian Knudsen took home the title of Majors Home Run Derby Champion with a total of 20 home runs. The Reds’ Mason Kenny took home a close second place. Best of all, however, was that DRALL was able to raise approximately $30,000 during the event through donations and pledges to help with their operating and maintenance costs!
“It feels amazing to see the kids playing baseball once again! Our board of directors has put in countless hours on Zoom since last March trying to figure out how we could make this season happen; our number one goal has been to get the kids back on the field as safely as possible,” said Vickie Farmer, DRALL’s Fundraising Director. “Things look a lot different this year––masks are required for everyone, the bleachers have turned into spaced-out dugouts for the players and fans spread out along the fenceline––but the kids are playing ball, and that’s really what matters! I really hope this is a sign that we are getting back to a sense of normalcy! This past year has been challenging in so many ways, so it feels absolutely amazing to see these kids in action again. They deserve it!”
DRALL is open to boys and girls ages 5 to 12 who live in parts of Westchester and Playa del Rey. To learn more, visit drall.org.
Posted April 2021.
Photos by Zsuzsi Steiner.
