Home run derby funds to be split between family and high school ball teams

Batters up!

By: Eileen Oldfield – Staff Writer
HILLSBOROUGH – Who is Hillsborough’s home run champion?
The Hillsborough High School Diamond Club aims to find out who can hit a baseball or softball farthest while raising money for sports equipment and a local family who lost their home in a fire earlier this year, during its second Home Run Derby on Aug. 21.
The derby, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 21 at Anne Van Middlesworth Park, costs just $10 for an adult to enter and $5 for a Little League-aged batter. The contest will divide entrants into several age groups, according to Hillsborough High School Baseball Coach Norm Hewitt. Registration for the derby will be held on site.
"It’s a great cause," Mr. Hewitt said. "Most everybody in their time has played either softball or baseball. It’s geared toward winning anything. It’s geared toward a great time. That’s what it’s about-another community activity and making people aware of the needs of some people in this town."
Derby participants will have to hit the ball far enough to reach or exceed a pre-determined homerun distance when they step up to the plate, Mr. Hewitt said. The distances will vary depending on the age group, and, if the hitter fails to reach the distance during his or her rotations at the plate, it will count as an out. Players will keep rotating through the plate until they reach five outs-missing the home run distance five times, Mr. Hewitt said.
Members of the high school baseball and softball teams will serve as spotters for the derby.
The best batters will advance to a final round, where they will compete for the home run championship trophies for each age group, he added.
The derby will be played on both fields at the park, and will feature slow-pitch baseball and softball competitions. The competition will be separated into men’s and women’s divisions, and then it will be divided into age groups from there.
"Basically, the ages go from age 10 right on through senior citizens," Mr. Hewitt said. "It’s all slow pitch, so it’s certainly going to be ‘hit-able.’"
Food will be sold during the derby as well, Mr. Hewitt added.
The Diamond Club will host the Homerun Derby fundraiser, though it initially planned the event to raise funds for the club exclusively. However, once a member of the recreation department mentioned the needs of the family it will benefit – Mr. Hewitt did not have the family’s name – the club decided to use a portion of the proceeds to help the community.
"It was such a great success, we thought we would organize another for our club," Mr. Hewitt said. "Then we heard about the family, and decided to split the proceeds with them."
The funds the Diamond Club keeps will go toward uniforms, T-shirts, extra equipment, and other items the baseball team cannot fund through money budgeted for the program.
"We realize if we want the extras, we’re willing to go out and work for it," Mr. Hewitt said. "That’s the strength of the Diamond Club. It eases the strain on things the budget does not allow us to afford. The money (for extra items) is not necessarily going to come from taxes."