Corinth High School junior baseball and football player Eli Johnson grew up playing on the fields of the Corinth-Alcorn Parks and Recreation Department.
Now, some of the people he grew up around want to help.
“Swinging for Eli,” a co-ed softball tournament to help the Johnson family will be played at Crossroads Regional Park on Saturday, March 25, beginning at 8 a.m.
Cost for teams is $300 each. A total of 10 teams have signed up so far. Teams must have 12 players and the roster is for both men and women.
“There is not a minimum or maximum, the more the better,” said tournament director William Hutcheson. “If we have enough teams, we can make it a two-day tournament. Anybody can create a team. This is not limited to actual softball teams.”
Winning teams will receive plaques at the tournament’s conclusion.
There will also be a silent auction and a gun raffle.
“We’re asking the community to come out and help us raise as much money as we can for this family,” said Hutcheson. “When it comes to sports and the park, the family has put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this park. Some of those kids went on to play high school ball or even college ball. They’ve put so much into this place for 15 years or more.”
Johnson was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma after Dr. Randy Frazier first discovered a mass in the athlete’s arm then referred him to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in December. The young man continues to undergo cancer treatment.
(To add a team to the tournament, contact William Hutcheson at
662-643-0597.)
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