Tiverton's Pesky Peckham Tournament Rewards Past and Present Competitors

As is the case for most of the spring and summer months, the sounds of baseball games are emanating from the confines of the this weekend. This weekend, however, those sounds also represent the echoes of people helping high school graduates pursue career dreams.

For the 10^th straight year, the Tiverton Little League is hosting the Pesky Peckham Tournament on three fields at the Town Farm complex. A total of 12 teams from Rhode Island and Massachusetts are participating in the event which began Thursday and continues through Sunday. Whichever team wins the tourney championship will not be long remembered, but the impact of this event will endure for years to come.

That’s because all proceeds raised by the league from the Pesky Peckham Tournament will be utilized to fund scholarships for graduates who competed in the league in the past and who plan to continue their formal educations in the future. According to Claudia Linhares, president of the little league, the organization’s contributions during the past decade have been substantial to the tune of more than $12,000.

“For the first eight years of the tournament, we gave out two $500 scholarships, but increased it to four $750 scholarships last year,” Linhares said. “We only had two applicants this year, so both will receive $750 scholarships.”

This year’s scholarship recipients will be announced at the conclusion of the tournament Sunday night.

According to Tournament Director Tom Perella, the Pesky Peckham Tournament has evolved rapidly since its inception in 2002. It is named in memory of a longtime Tiverton Little League coach and volunteer who died that year.

“That first year, we had just two teams – Warren and Tiverton – playing in the tournament,” Perella said. “We increased it to four teams for a few years, expanded to eight teams four years ago, and bumped it up to 12 teams last year.”

Rhode Island entries in this year’s field include the Tiverton Americans and Tiverton Nationals, Narragansett, Warren, Cumberland, Little Compton and Riverside. Massachusetts is represented by defending champion Mansfield, Fall River American, two clubs from the Swansea Independent Baseball League and Swansea Little League.

The Pesky Peckham Tournament opened Thursday night with three games and Friday’s three contests ensured all competing clubs of one outing prior to the weekend. The tourney continued Saturday with three games apiece at 9:15 a.m., noon, 2:45 p.m. and 5 p.m., and closes Sunday with first-round playoff contests at 12:30 p.m.; second-round playoff clashes at 2:45 p.m.; and the championship tussle at 5 p.m.

Three “Star of the Game” awards are distributed at the conclusion of all games and members of the championship and runner-up squads will receive trophies Sunday night at the close of the tournament.

Thursday night, Warren bopped the Tiverton Americans, 10-2; the Swansea Little League topped Fall River American, 14-4; and Cumberland nipped the SIBL 9-year-olds, 11-9. Friday night, Mansfield blanked the Tiverton Nationals, 3-0; Little Compton trimmed Riverside, 14-4; and the SIBL 8-year-olds upset Narragansett 12-4.

According to Perella, the Tiverton Little League generates a substantial profit from the Pesky Peckham Tournament every year because of its volunteer nature.

“Everyone working here this weekend to run the tournament – from umpires, to field maintenance workers, to concessions workers – is doing it voluntarily,” Perella said. “No one is getting paid for helping out.”

According to Linhares, the burgeoning reputation of the Pesky Peckham Tournament has attracted the attention of leagues near and far.

“We run a pretty good tournament,” she said. “It’s low-key and it’s not crazy-competitive. Plus we have beautiful fields in Tiverton.”

And somewhere, Pesky Peckham must be soaking it all in.