Eyes Turn Toward Invitational Softball Tournament

With local football teams out of the playoffs, and the Polar Vortex playing havoc with thermometers, what better time then now than to think of “Pitchers and Catchers” and the mild weather that comes with baseball.

Alon Solon is hoping that he’s not alone in that thought process, as he begins plans for the second annual Mayor’s Invitational Softball Tournament.

The tournament was held in June to raise money for Hurricane Sandy relief and was a huge success, said Solon, who along with Robert Shapiro organizes the event.

The tournament raised more than $7,000 and was split among three different charities, the Andrew Hegt Foundation, Rebuild NJ, and NJ Promise, two Hurricane Sandy relief charities.

“Everyone had a great time and it ended up being a great day,” said Solon. “The weather was awesome, two teams had to drop out but worked out awesome. We had 13 teams playing and used two complexes.”

With planning set to begin for this year’s tournament, Solon said finding volunteers and sponsors are among the first items on the “things to do” list.

“We were lucky enough that the umpires were all volunteers, and they did all the games from the morning to the final game. We’re always looking for adult volunteers, sponsors and teams,” he said.

Among last year’s “volunteers” were former Major League Baseball Players Cecil Fielder and Eddie Murray.

“They showed up toward the third or four game of the day and just kind of hung out. People came out to see them, they posed for pics,” said Solon.

The event is more then just a way to raise money for those who need it, it’s also a great day that brings the community together. In fact, everyone pulled together at last year’s event to get the fields in shape days after a Nor’easter tore through the area, drenching the fields and postponing play.

“We had number of teams on the fields on Saturday for probably couple of hours to get the fields together,” said Solon.

For more information, to volunteer, become a sponsor, or register a team, visit www.marlborotourney.com, or email marlborotourney@gmail.com.