LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield Little League 11-year-old Jimmy Fund Lavender team has spent the summer playing a lot of baseball.
The team has also been playing for a higher cause, raising more than $12,600 for the Jimmy Fund. The team’s goal is $15,000.
Wednesday night, the parking lot at Newhall Park was full to the brim as the team hosted a special fundraiser to honor the memory of Julie Routhier, who died last Sept. at the age of 39 after a long battle with lung cancer.
Former Lynnfield High baseball and soccer athlete, and Seton Hall baseball standout Jonathan Luders was on hand to throw out a ceremonial first pitch to Julie’s 9-year-old son, Connor, prior to Lavender’s game against Peabody, won by Lynnfield, 20-10 . While Luders’ pitch was a bit off the mark, Connor made it look easy, firmly snagging the pitch in his catcher’s mitt and framing it.
Connor, who will be a 4th grader at the Summer Street School in the fall, said he felt a little pressure and was “a little bit” nervous.
His father Brad Routhier thought he did just “fine.”
“Connor did pretty good out there today; he didn’t drop the ball so it was great,” Brad said. “We’ve been supportive of all these efforts and the cancer-related things before that so it was good to be a part of the process;”
Lavender Coach Matt Donahue said the ceremonial first pitch was “amazing.”
“Jonathan is just the nicest kid. Having come through the Lynnfield Little League program, and come back and do that for us and honor Connor’s mother like that was just amazing. And Connor catching that pitch was really special. He made it look easy.”
Luders said when he heard about the team’s fundraising efforts and learned that Connor was going to be the catcher, he was thrilled to participate.
“This is such a phenomenal cause. I’m honored to have been asked and have never been asked to throw out the first pitch, so it was really special to have been asked to throw to Connor and help raise money for cancer,” he said. “Our Seton Hall team raises money for Vs. Cancer, which goes to pediatric brain cancer. We buzz off our hair and it’s a really good thing. We raised a bunch of money. A lot of NCAA teams participate. My past four years we’ve all raised money through family and friends. It’s pretty special to be able to do that.”
Luders admitted the pitch was not a strike and “was out of the zone, so that was a very good catch by Connor.”
Luders graduated from Seton Hall in June but will be back on campus this fall to work on a master’s degree in early childhood education. He is also eligible for a fifth year playing for the Pirates’ baseball team.
“COVID wiped out my first year after only 11 games, so the NCAA decided to allow an extra year of eligibility to athletes who weren’t able to play during the pandemic,” said Luders, who is coming on a breakout season in 2023, a season in which he was named to the All-Big East Second Team despite missing 14 games with an injury.
He set career highs with 21 RBI and two home runs and was one of just two Pirates to hit two homers in a game. He led the conference in hit-by-pitch (16), was third in on-base percentage (.489), 13th in batting average (.338) and first in sacrifice bunts against conference opponents with five. One of the Pirates’ top contact hitters, Luders struck out only eight times in 170 plate appearances.
Defensively, Luders had 104 assists and turned 26 double plays while playing second base. He made just three errors while manning second base. In conference play, he committed just one error in 100 chances.
“I was very honored to be named to the second team, as everyone was very good,” Luders said. “One of the Big East second basemen actually got drafted so it was really cool to be recognized. We had a really good year this year and are returning a lot of guys so I am really excited about next year and we are looking to make the (NCAA tournament) next year.”
When asked what he plans to do after his Division 1 days are over next spring, Luders said he plans to follow a lifelong dream of playing professionally in the big leagues.
“That’s always been my goal,” he said. “Whether I’m drafted or not, my plan is to start somewhere, first in the Rookie League, and then hopefully move up through A, AA and AAA to the big leagues.”
Until he returns to Seton Hall in a few weeks, Luders continues to give private lessons to young Lynnfield players.
“We work in the Little League cage and the kids just love the game,” Luders said. “A lot of them have pretty good little swings so they really only need a little tinkering. It’s really cool to see the smile on their faces when they hit a really good one. It’s very rewarding as a coach to see.”
To make a donation, go to https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/.
