Jack Doyle, 14, of Arlington Heights, fires a pitch Sunday during the BT8 Foundation’s Wiffle ball tournament in Itasca in honor of Bennet Taft, who died from an asthma attack at age 13.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.con
Bennet Taft loved Wiffle ball.
So it’s fitting that the memory of the 13-year-old Itasca boy who died of an asthma attack in February 2023 is honored annually with a Whiffle ball tournament for young players with the same passion for the game.
“It was an everyday thing,” Bryce Taft said of his brother’s fascination with the sport. “It was all day during summer.”
Jenna Taft, mother of Bennet Taft, hands out baseball cards Sunday at the Wiffle ball tournament held in honor of her son.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
This year’s second edition of tournament was an all-day event held Sunday at Elmer H. Franzen Intermediate School in Itasca. It drew 65 teams of players ranging from first graders to middle schoolers.
“Representing him in this means a lot,” said Bennet’s best friend, 14-year-old Nick Cammarata. “I think he would love it.”
The three-inning games featured plastic bats and the classic perforated plastic ball. And while the pitchers’ control wasn’t always up to par, it wasn’t difficult to shake off getting hit by a Wiffle ball.
“He was an avid baseball player,” said Bennett’s mother, Jenna Taft. “And when he wasn’t playing in an actual tournament, Bennet was playing Wiffle ball. It was kind of what they did in the neighborhood.”
Bennet Taft
Courtesy of the Taft family
Proceeds from the event go toward the BT8 Foundation, which provides a scholarship to a senior student-athlete at Lake Park Community High School. The foundation provided $5,000 last year and hopes to donate more this year, Jenna Taft said.
Despite the good it does, she admits the event is an emotional one for her and her family.
“It’s hard. I cried making posters,” she said. “But I know he would love this, so it’s worth it.”
11-year-old Joey Nehf of Itasca hurls a Wiffle ball during Sunday’s tournament honoring Bennet Taft.
Steve Zalusky/szalusky@dailyherald.com
The event included a raffle and bingo. For a $100 entry fee, players also received breakfast, lunch, drinks and a T-shirt.
The tournament drew from a wide area, with one team coming all the way from Mattoon. Last year’s tourney include teams from Lockport and Plainfield.
“Bennet was a very high-level baseball player, and he played against those guys,” said his uncle, Joe Davidson.
Bennet’s travel baseball coach in Downers Grove, Curtis Topps, also attended the tournament.
“He loved the game. He was a true student of the game.” Topps said, adding that he told Bennet, “If you don’t make the majors, you’re going to be a great coach.”
Amanda Esposito, whose son Dom played in the tournament, said Bennet’s death hit the community hard.
“It was really rough,” she said. “We all had gotten an email from the principal in the morning to let us know that he had passed. The kids took it hard.”
But the tournament has provided healing, Esposito added.
“They were looking so forward to this. They have been taping up their bats and getting their uniforms ready, and they’re proud to represent for him,” she said.