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.”