Tournament Doubled As Tribute To Fallen Trooper With South Jersey Ties

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, GLOUCESTER COUNTY — The sons of fallen New Jersey State Trooper Sean Cullen threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the 4th Annual Thin Blue Line Classic Baseball Tournament on Friday.

Cullen, who had spent part of his childhood in Cinnaminson, was killed in the line of duty after being struck by a vehicle while assisting at a Deptford Township crash scene in 2016.

Some other members of Cullen's family were in attendance to watch the first pitch from the pitchers' mound, as were members of other teams and the New Jersey State Police.

The Main Street Mashers of West Deptford played in the tournament. The Mashers are coached by West Deptford Corporal Frank Teti who was among those at the scene when Cullen was struck.

In recent weeks, Teti has helped draw attention to t-shirts that the Mashers wear, which honor Cullen and the Mashers. Five dollars of each t-shirt's sale goes to the Trooper Sean Cullen Memorial Fund, which provides scholarships to worthy students, according to the fund's Charity Navigator webpage. At last check, about $750 had been raised for the fund from t-shirt sales.

The t-shirts can be ordered for about 1 more week and can be ordered from the company making the t-shirts at this link.

Got a news tip? Story idea? Email janel.miller@patch.com. Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.