Ellington Wiffle Ball/Fenway Tourney and Fundraiser On Tap for This Month

ELLINGTON, CT - The third-annual Troy Russell/Austin Tautkus Wiffle Ball Tournament and Fundraiser is scheduled for on July 15 through 17.

This year's event will feature three divisions:

• 14-under (games on July 15)
• 40-over (games on July 16)
• Open Division (games on July 17)

The games are played at 18 Brookfield Drive in Ellington and the field is a mini-replica of Fenway Park complete with a 12-foot-high, 56-foot long Green Monster in left field.

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Last year the event raised close to $4,500 and in 2014 it raised $3,200. Organizers said this year's goal is $5,000.

This year's tournament will run try to raise funds in in two ways:

1. Put a team in the tournament. Teams are 4-to-5 players and the cost is $100.

2 . A donation page set up where individuals and businesses can contribute to the cause: https://www.youcaring.com/tautkus-memorial-scholarship-fund-russell-rehabilitation-fun-402435

Austin Tautkus and Troy Russell were both standout student athletes at Ellington High School from the Class of 2013.

In the late summer of 2012, Russell suffered a severe spinal cord injury while swimming at a beach.

Tautkus, who went on to play college football at Western Connecticut State University after graduating in 2013, was killed in a work-related accident at the family farm in June 2014.

Half of the event proceeds go toward funding a permanent scholarship at Ellington High School in Austin's memory.

The other half of the proceeds go to the Russell family to help with the spiraling medical costs associated with Troy's ongoing rehabilitation.We are hoping to raise more than $5,000 for the families this year.

Click here for additional tourney information.