Four Chosen For Sam Bucci Memorial Scholarship

In April, Seneca Valley senior Justin Stanger organized a at Moraine State Park to raise money for the Sam Bucci Memorial Scholarship.

This was the second year for the fundraiser, which honored Bucci, an 18-year-old baseball player at Seneca Valley High School who, along with two other students, died in a .

The fishing derby for the scholarship and Stanger said the Seneca Valley Baseball Boosters contributed another $1,000 to the total.

At the Raiders Baseball Banquet on Sunday, Tyler Budisky, Brad Collier, Justin McCauley and Ben Murray were chosen as the scholarship recipients.

Stanger, who was friends with Bucci and played on the baseball team with him, said the students were interviewed for the scholarship by Bucci’s mom, Kathy Bucci, and by baseball coaches Eric Semega and Tony Babusci.

The scholarship was divided among four recipients, Stanger said, because each student showed something that reminded Kathy Bucci of her son.

Budisky also received the Buddy Lott Award and Collier took home the Nancy Schneider Award. Stanger was honored with the Greg Wimer Scholarship award.