By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
With a pre-planned strategy to just play better, Hillsborough claimed a win for both the township and the local food pantry when it defeated Montgomery, 20 to 4, in the Mayor’s Trophy softball game July 30.
”We were victorious and it was a nice friendly game,” Mayor Frank DelCore said. “But we also got a pretty sizeable donation (for the food pantry), and that was the most important part.”
The game, in its second year, pitted township officials from Hillsborough against those from Montgomery for a softball game that included a request for participants and spectators to bring nonperishable items to be split evenly between the food pantries in both towns.
Mayor DelCore said the Hillsborough team featured about 18 township officials, and between 30 and 40 people filled the stands and brought items to donate.
”The families (affiliated with the pantry) will benefit from this,” he said. “We had a nice turnout of goods.”
According to Hillsborough Social Services Director Tom Ormosi, the township’s food pantry, which currently serves between 85 and 100 families, received four full bins of food at the end of the game. Among the items, he said, were canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese and peanut butter.
”We are always running low on things, and this fills the hole between when we get donations from local churches,” he said. “Anytime an organization donates to the pantry, it is always good for us.”
Montgomery’s food pantry received an equal share of the donated items. Mayor Louise Wilson said they received cereal, pasta, sauces and soups, among other items.
Aside from collecting the food, after a loss in the first game in 2008, Mayor DelCore said the Hillsborough team came back this year with a well-played game filled with single and double hits, as well as “no mistakes in the field.”
”Whatever we did this year was successful,” he said. “We have bragging rights now, but (I imagine) Montgomery will want revenge next year.”
Mayor Wilson expressed a similar sentiment about the outcome of the game.
”The game was fine, no injuries, no brawls and minimal cussing,” she said. “(It was) definitely fun and worthwhile. We’ve now won one and lost one. There’s always next year.”
Mayor DelCore said he hopes this new event to gather food items for those in need continues over the years to benefit those people who rely on the local food pantries. And, he said, the game is a lot of fun.
”I hope this is the beginning of a new-found tradition,” he said.
