On Lisa DeRienzo’s left sleeve were the initials LD in white letters inside a black circle in memory of her mother Joan.
The St. Joseph by the Sea second-year softball assistant lost her mother to breast cancer in 1997 and team’s first annual breast cancer awareness game was named in her mom’s honor. The Vikings coaches all wore white T-shirts with a pink ribbon in the front and Joan’s initials on their sleeve and players had on pink T-shirt jersey tops.
“Cancer affects so many in so many ways,” DeRienzo said. “My mother just represents everyone who was affected by it. I wish I could put everyone’s name and initials on this shirt.”
The coaches and players didn’t know about DeRienzo’s mother when the idea first started. Sea coach Mike Ponsiglione said he was in girls athletic director Kathy Kelly’s office when first baseman Laura Leone broached the idea of a fundraiser. The senior always wears a pink bow in her hair for games, so it sparked the idea of a breast cancer awareness day.
“I saw it on the schedule and I asked Mike what it was about,” DeRienzo said. “Being a woman and having cancer in my family, I said let’s really promote the day.”
Besides the T-shirts, the Vikings players wore pink socks and had pink balloons on their dugout. Ponsiglione said he chose to make the fundraiser against the Mavericks and on the weekend because they would draw a big crowd for the junior varsity/varsity doubleheader. Sea raised $1,200 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation through donations, selling 50/50 chances and raffling off gift baskets.
“I think this is a great idea and I think this is a great place to have it because a lot of people show up for this,” Moore pitcher Emily Horihan said. “I think they did a great job with it.”
Added Ponsiglione: “It just took off. It was great. It was very successful.”
After the Vikings JV team came back from deficits of 6-0 and 8-6 to win 9-8 in eight innings, 15-year breast cancer survivor Loretta Bellotti threw out the ceremonial first pitch, with a pink ball, for the varsity contest. She is the grandmother of freshman soccer player Alex Inserra and active in the fight against breast cancer.
“It’s just an awareness that breast cancer can be cured,” she said of the day.
The Vikings capped it off with a 4-1 victory over the rival Mavericks to push their league record to 11-0 and record their 17th victory of the season. DeRienzo said before the game she couldn’t have asked for a better group of kid to represent her mother.
“We definitely wanted it for Coach Lisa,” Sea pitcher Amanda Barrese said. “She is probably one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. She is always positive about everything. I think we needed this for her.”
And her mother as well.