RAINSVILLE, Ala.— This Sunday Apr. 17 at 1 p.m in Rainsville, members of a local whiffle ball league will host “Whiffle for Savannah,” a tournament to raise money for Savannah Willingham, a Plainview senior who was seriously injured in a March 2 car accident.
Four of the men involved in organizing the “Wiffle for Savannah” fundraiser on Sunday—
Rainsville natives Kyle Coots, Seth Busby, Jarred Underwood, and Trey Haymon are members of the Yellowhammers, a local wiffle ball team that has competed in the World Wiffle Ball Championship and played in tournaments all over the country. When they are not traveling, the Yellowhammers play their home games on a field in Rainsville built in 2010 dedicated solely to wiffle ball that is named the “‘Field of Nightmares,’ officially the place where wiffle ball dreams go to die.”
According to Yellowhammers Vice President Trey Haymon, he and his teammates had recently been looking for a way to give back to the community, so when they were asked to help raise money for Savannah, they were thrilled to do so.
“Most of us who play regularly at the Field of Nightmares go to church with Savannah, or have known her family for a long time,” Haymon said. “We wanted to find a way to get the whole community involved.”
The Yellowhammers played their first tournament at the Field of Nightmares in early 2010. This year will be the seventh year in which the group has held its Spring Wiffleball Tournament at the homemade field. This weekend though, the team that calls the Field of Nightmares home will be hosting “Wiffle for Savannah” at the Rainsville Field of Dreams Sports Complex.
Because of the large crowd expected, Haymon said the Field of Dreams is a better fit for the almost 20 teams that have signed up for the event as of press time. “We hope the Whiffle for Savannah tournament that we’re hosting at the Field of Dreams will raise a lot of money that to help in in her ongoing recovery effort and begin easing what has no doubt been a nightmare for her family.”
With teams signed up to participate in the wiffle ball tournament for Savannah, as well as the many donation jars around Rainsville and other fundraising events, it’s safe to say that community has reached out in hopes that Savannah can work towards a full recovery.
For more information on the Field of Nightmares, or anything regarding the Savannah wiffle ball tournament, visit their website at http://fieldofnightmares.weebly.com/, or their Facebook page.Rainsville Field of Dreams Sports Complex
The Field of Nightmares describes itself as the place where dreams go to die.
