State Rep 'Honored' to Take Part in Wiffle Ball Tourney

ELLINGTON, CT - State Rep. Christopher Davis on Wednesday shared some thoughts about throwing out the first pitch at the 2016 Annual Austin Tautkus and Troy Russell Wiffle Ball Tournament on Saturday.

“I was honored to throw out the first pitch today,” said Rep. Davis. “Austin Tautkus name will never be forgotten in our community, and Troy Russell’s tenacity to recover from his injuries is a true inspiration to the entire community.”

The third-annual Troy Russell/Austin Tautkus Wiffle Ball Tournament and Fundraiser was staged over the weekend. 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. The amounbt is still being tallied, but a donation page is still set up 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 and donation information.