LYNN — The Vanessa Masucci Softball Tournament is coming back to Lynn for its fifth year on August 5. The tournament is in memory of Vanessa Masucci, a beloved teacher in Lynn.
Vanessa’s brother, Joe Masucci, said he’s looking forward to this year’s tournament as it’s a great time to reminisce and tell stories about Vanessa with her close friends and family members.
“It’s the one time of year where you get to see a lot of people and everyone gets together to reminisce and talk about stories about Vanessa,” Masucci said. “People have their own lives, so you don’t get to see everyone all the time. It’s a very good time.”
Eight teams are competing this year, composed of people who are connected to Vanessa. Although the day is about remembering Vanessa, Masucci said there is a bit of friendly competition and trash talk.
“[The] majority of the teams that are pulled all have connections to Vanessa. One of my cousin’s family will put a team in. My family will put a team together, college friends, and co-workers who know the cause will put a team in,” Masucci said. “It’s not super competitive, but it definitely gets chippy at times with teams sharing some friendly trash talk.”
The tournament raises money for The Vanessa Masucci Scholarship Fund where each year the committee selects a Lynn high school senior to receive the scholarship. Masucci was tragically murdered by her husband in 2017.
“The money we raise goes into a scholarship fund account and every year we give it to a softball player who attends a Lynn public high school, or St. Mary’s, who will be attending college,” Masucci said. “We send it to all high school seniors and then when we get their applications back, we read their letters and as a committee, we choose who to select.”
This year’s recipient of the Vanessa Masucci Scholarship is Jarielis Perez of Lynn English. Before the tournament’s 11:30 a.m. game, Vanessa’s daughter, Adrianna, will throw the first pitch to Perez.
Masucci praised the behind-the-scenes work ahead of the tournament.
“Rich Avery, Dave Raymond, and Jeff Earp have been a huge help,” Masucci said. “Whatever we want or need for the facilities, they are more than accommodating. They spend their time there. They volunteer.”
“Paul McCabe and Sara McCabe, who are two of Vanessa’s really good friends, do a great job running the tournament,” Masucci said. “Also, Colleen Bransfield and Jess Walsh are on the committee and the tournament wouldn’t run without them. They do all the heavy lifting and help run the tournament.”
The tournament will take place at the Babe Ruth baseball fields at Breed Middle School with the first game set for 9 a.m.
“It’s a pretty long day, but it’s a one-day tournament,” Masucci said. “The first game is at 9 a.m. and the championship game will be at 6:30 p.m.”
To donate to the Vanessa Masucci Scholarship Fund, venmo @Masucci-Softball or send a check to The Vanessa Masucci Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 93, Lynn, MA, 01905.
