WESTERN MASS INVADERS, a 12-player youth baseball team from Western Massachusetts, will host an outdoor movie night on May 29 at School Street Park in Agawam to help pay for a summer trip to Cooperstown, New York. The event starts at 8:30 p.m. and will feature The Sandlot as the team tries to raise money for its July tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park.
Tickets are $12 each, with all proceeds going toward the trip, and 250 tickets are available. Fans can buy them on Venmo. Popcorn, water and snacks will also be sold at the event. If rain forces a cancellation, half of each ticket price will be refunded and the other half will still support the fundraiser.
The movie night is the latest push for a team that needs to come up with about $10,000 to make the trip happen. The money will help cover umpire fees, player uniforms, trading pins, lodging-related tournament costs and the wider Cooperstown Dreams Park experience for the players and their families. The Western Mass Invaders are a private, independent travel baseball organization that plays its home games at St. John’s Field in Agawam.
Janette Vigo said the roster is made up of 12 dedicated young athletes from Western Massachusetts who have worked extremely hard, both on and off the field, to earn the chance to go to Cooperstown. She said the trip is important because it reflects years of hard work, dedication, growth and commitment to the sport and to one another as teammates.
Cooperstown is scheduled for July 24-29 and is widely treated as one of the biggest milestones in youth travel baseball, a week-long tournament where teams from across the country come together to compete. Vigo said it is something young players dream about because it gives them the chance to face teams from around the country, take part in the traditions and atmosphere around the game and make memories they will carry forever. The team is also seeking sponsors, and businesses that step up will have their names and logos placed on the team banner.
For the Invaders, the fundraiser is about more than covering a tournament bill. It is a shot at giving 12 boys a once-in-a-lifetime baseball experience in Cooperstown, and the money raised in Agawam will decide how far that trip can go.
