Mark Sasso's team wins Softball Tournament, competes against ESPN All Stars

ESPN 98.7’s Don La Greca, co-host of The Michael Kay Show

In the 14th annual Mark A. Sasso Memorial Fund tournament, the team Mark Sasso coached, Kozlowski Masonry, won the round-robin tournament and played in the feature game against the ESPN All-Stars.

"We were Mark Sasso's boys. He coached us when we were 12 years old," said Ricky Grofsick. "We haven't won this tournament in a while, so it was fun to be here and win it for Mark."

Each year, ESPN 98.7’s Don La Greca, co-host of The Michael Kay Show, and the ESPN 98.7 All-Stars play the winner of the annual softball tournament to raise funds for the Mark A. Sasso Memorial Fund. The foundation, named in memory of Mark Sasso who lost his battle with cancer in 2008, collects donations to help deserving Hawthorne students go to college.

"Mark lived down here. He loved the game of baseball, said Bob Gonnello, who organized the tournament with Councilwoman Anna Marie Sasso, Mark's widow. "Mark was a coach the whole time that he was here in Hawthorne. He loved being with the kids. And that's why we said, We're going to do a softball tournament in his honor. It's down here where he spent all his time."

La Greca was also inspired by his connection to Mark Sasso. "Mark was a friend, so I always want to come back to Hawthorne where I played ball as a kid and participate in this fundraiser. It's an easy decision every year," he said.

Councilwoman Sasso, the person who was probably closest to Mark, also reflected on how he inspired the tournament. "It's just amazing to me that this fundraiser spawned from heartache. We turned the heartbreak into a positive and pay it forward by helping children year after year," she said.

La Greca playing short stop

Ricky Grofsick, one of Mark Sasso's original team members

Peter Rosenberg, also from The Michael Kay Show

(L to R) Bill & Lisa Scarnaty volunteers; Councilwoman Anna Marie Sasso (Mark's widow); Domenic Sasso (Anna Marie & Mark's son)