Verucchi’s softball going to bat for Jonny Rod

The Hall Red Devils and St. Bede Bruins may have been rivals in high school, but they can now all agree on two things — they can all play softball together and team up for a good cause.

The Verucchi’s softball team from Spring Valley, comprised of former athletes from Hall and St. Bede, have organized the first Jonny Yerly Classic softball tournament and charity event beginning Thursday through Sunday in Cherry. All the proceeds will go to the recently-formed Jonny Yerly Foundation to help promote handicap awareness.

The timing all came about when Yerly, 26, who has cerebral palsy, was starting up a websitehttp://www.jonnyrod.com/ to promote his book, “My Life in a Wheel Chair.” Eric Carls, who is a cousin to Yerlythrough the Verucchi’s family, figured his Verucchi’s softball squad could come together to help his cousin’s cause.

“It was us wanting to do a softball tournament, and it snowballed into something bigger. All proceeds will go into the foundation,” Carls said.

Though they may have worn rival colors in high school, Carls, a 1999 St. Bede graduate from Spring Valley, said they all grew up together.

“We went to the Catholic school, but we’ve always been close to the guys who went to Hall,” said Carls, a civil engineer for Smith Engineering out of Yorkville. “They’re all a good group of kids who want to give back. That’s the whole premise. We all grew up playing sports. It’s a good way to give something back.”

The Verucchi’s lineup includes former Red Devils Eugene Sebben, T.J. Orlandi, Derek Baird, Brad Foster, Adam “the Worm” Curran, Mark Dempsey, Brant Baltikauski and Jason Burkiewic. Team members from the Academy include Eric Carls, Michael Andreoni, Ryan Milus, Dale Carls and Zach Milus.

Carls said they’d love to bring back another former Bruin, J.A. Happ, but they realize he’s kind of busy these days pitching for the Houston Astros.

There will be 10 teams in a pool play style format. Games will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will also be live music playing all day and Saturday and Sunday in the beer garden.

Jonny Rod states all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to various charities as well as helping those who can not afford wheelchairs. The book may be purchased online from his website as well as Verucchi’sRistorante in Spring Valley and Sasso’s in downtown LaSalle.

Be sure to visit Jonny Rod’s website. It tells you a lot about the young man who hasn’t let his ailment keep him down.

He’s attended Lighted Way School in LaSalle and graduated from LaSalle-Peru High.

Got to love his definition of having a Great Day would be going to Arizona for the Cubs Spring Training and meeting Ron Santo. He says Santo’s one of his heroes because he’s been through so much with his diabetes, and he never lets it get him down. Even a Cardinal fan can appreciate that.

He also lists the Voice of the Valley, Lanny Slevin, as one of his heroes. No surprise to see his favorite holiday is Thanksgiving at Verucchi’s.

• Brotherly love?: Speaking of Happ, he returned to Philadelphia for the first time as a member of the Houston Astros to face his former teammates Wednesday. He said he was going to do his best to try to control those emotions of his Philly homecoming when he took the mound.

“It’s going to be more strange when I’m in here not pitching,” Happ told mlb.com. “When I’m out there, I’m trying to get guys out. When I’m in here and I see familiar guys walk up to hit, it’s going to be weird.”

“This park has a home smell to me. You’d come off the road, come here, and it’s like, ‘Ah, home.’”

Happ is 2-2 with a 4.62 ERA for the Astros since the July 29 trade for Roy Oswalt.

Contact BCR sports editor Kevin Hieronymus at khieronymus@bcrnews.com