This year, the tournament will raise money for the family of Zach and Amanda Eaton, whose 4-month-old son Eli was born with the rare heart defect, Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries, or CCTGA. Eli was born with his heart’s lower arteries reversed. About one percent of all babies born with heart defects have CCTGA, meaning there are between 5,000 and 10,000 people with the rare defect, according to the American Congenital Heart Association. Zach Eaton is a Kenton Ridge High School grad, while Amanda Eaton is a Catholic Central grad.
“We feel incredibly blessed,” Amanda Eaton said. “We’re still getting used to his diagnosis and we’ve been shown so much love from the community. Everyone has been wonderful. We were surprised when they chose him. We’re very grateful.”
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The wiffle ball tournament began in 1984 and initially ran for 10 years, organizer John Leep said. Five years ago, the Leep family brought it back to Springfield. The event has raised more than $75,000 for children’s charities during its 15-year run, including Springfield Christian Youth Ministries.
“Life isn’t about doing for yourself, it’s about doing for others,” John Leep said. “We’re blessed. It’s a way we can give back. We were just talking the other day: Can you believe we raised $10,000 from a plastic ball and bat?”
The tournament has grown so big over the last five years that the Leep family moved it to UAW Local 402 Park, where it has enough space for 10 fields and more parking. About 500 people attended the event last year.
“We’re fortunate that they’re supportive of us doing it out here,” organizer Steve Leep said.
Last year, the tournament raised more than $10,000 for Springfield residents Leah and Ellie Miller. Leah, 13, and Ellie, 3, were both born with spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that affects the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement.
Amanda Eaton’s father, Bob Kennedy, the owner of Aqua Falls Bottled Water Company, has long been a key supporter of the event. When the Leep family heard about Kennedy’s grandson, they knew it was time to take care of one of their own.
Five days after Eli Eaton was born, the family’s pediatrician noticed something unusual about his heart. He was diagnosed with CCTGA a few days later.
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He’s expected to have open heart surgery at some point in the next year. He’s currently seeing specialists at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich.
“He’s the happiest baby,” Amanda Eaton said. “You can’t really tell anything is wrong with him.”
The family recently started a Facebook page, Team Eli, to help raise awareness about his condition and update the community about his doctor’s appointments.
“We’ve got a lot of people praying for him and just raising awareness about congenital heart disease,” Amanda Eaton said. “The community support has been amazing.”
The event’s trademark are custom fields with replica scoreboards, including Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and the Champion City Kings’ Carleton Davidson Stadium. Last year, the event added a fourth custom stadium, the Dayton Dragons’ Fifth Third Field.
“We’re starting to hit that third generation of wiffle ball players,” Steve Leep said. “That’s been really cool.”
Representatives from all four branches of the military will be in attendance with different activities, including a football throw and a pull-up bar. The event will also include bounce house inflatables for children, food trucks and a post-tournament concert with The American Landscape.
“The community has definitely come together to support this, from businesses to volunteers to families,” John Leep said.
For more information, search Stevie’s World of Wiffleball on Facebook.
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