PITTSFIELD, Mass. – A local fund-raiser for the Jimmy Fund keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Striking out Cancer in the Berkshires returns for a fifth year on Saturday, June 28, on Buddy Pellerin Field at Clapp Park.
Organizer Joe DiCicco, who started the event in 2021 in honor of his late wife, never expected to still be planning for the event five years later.
“It is amazing,” he said recently. “I just didn’t know what to expect five years ago, but every year it gets bigger.”
And it gets more successful.
In 2024, Striking Out Cancer in the Berkshires raised $10,400, its best year yet, adding to a total of close to $28,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund.
The heart of the event is an all-day baseball and women’s softball game for players high school aged and up.
For a $10 donation, players can join for as many innings as they want as lineups change throughout the event.
While scores are not important in the community oriented game that has been the focus of the event since year one, year five adds a more competitive aspect.
At 3 p.m., the two American Legion Senior Division baseball teams from Pittsfield Post 68 will play one another for the first time since the program added a second team.
As usual, Striking Out Cancer in the Berkshires will include more than just the game.
On Sunday, June 22, the event’s annual party with live music from Dan Gingras will be held at the Sideline Saloon. The event will feature a display of the 2018 World Series championship trophy on loan from the Boston Red Sox.
On Saturday, June 28, attendees at the game will be able to participate in the silent auction for prizes that will include an autographed baseball donated by the Red Sox and four tickets to a Worcester Red Sox minor league game.
Players and families in attendance also will be able to eat ice cream from the Krispy Kone truck and hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by volunteers from the Pittsfield chapter of UNICO.
Those are just some of the community partners, like the Sideline Saloon, that have made Striking Out Cancer in the Berkshires such a success. Others include the sponsors who completely defray the cost of the event’s T-shirts.
One partner is not always as cooperative, but DiCicco and his fellow baseball enthusiasts find a way to persevere.
“Another two weeks, I start praying for good weather,” DiCicco said. “One year, two years ago or it might have been three, there was no rain in sight, but I woke up that morning to pouring rain. I said, ‘What?’
“As long as the rain stays away, I’m hoping for a nice big crowd.”
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Pittsfield Graduates Reflect on Their Pride as Generals
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
Principal Maggie Harrington-Esko thanked the class for its positivity as she completes her last year as principal. See more photos here.
LENOX, Mass. — Pittsfield High School seniors reflected on the school year and their time "under the dome" at Sunday's graduation ceremonies.
Principal Maggie Harrington-Esko welcomed families and the 159 graduates to Tanglewood, noting that this year is different as it's her last at PHS.
"I am so grateful to the class of 2025, thank you for your positivity you brought to Pittsfield High School. Thank you for creating and strengthening an atmosphere of inclusivity at our school. Thank you for being role models to our freshmen, and thank you for being such a bright light, not just in our building, but in the city of Pittsfield. You've shown up for each other in big and small ways. You've led with kindness, you've lifted people up, and you've made space for students to see, feel seen and valued," she said.
"You have made our school more alive and like a home, our home under the dome."
Harrington-Esko has been with Pittsfield high for 20 years and was made principal in 2022.
Class President Caroline Sherman told her classmates that it's time to make their own paths.
"I kept trying to find the right answer. The right thing to say. The right advice to give. But, the longer I dwelled, the more I began to realize, there is no one right answer. We are given advice all the time, 'travel while you're young, go to school, get a masters, go to community college, save your money, move somewhere new, follow your dreams, be responsible' and so on," she said. "It all contradicts itself which gets extremely overwhelming as I'm sure many of you know. The truth is, none of this advice is better than the other because it is all based on someone else's experiences. Now, it is time for us to listen to our own advice, and follow our own passions. ...
Carson Rylander was dominant Sunday as the Drury baseball team beat Mount Everett, 4-0, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament.
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The senior class at Pittsfield High School has elected Helen Makdisi and Caroline Sherman to speak at graduation this Sunday, June 8, at 4 p.m. The ceremony will be held on the grounds of Tanglewood. click for more