JAY COUNTY, Ind.--- The game of baseball, like life, is full of highs and lows.

One day may be a blowout full of home runs and high fives. The next, a discouraging loss. For eight h grader Daryll Bledsoe, baseball was everything.

“He loved baseball,” Sarah Bledsoe, Daryll’s adopted mother, said. “Baseball was his life. He would’ve been a pro.”

Then, Daryll’s family suffered the worst loss of all. Daryll Bledsoe passed away just over a year ago on July 26, 2022, in a drowning accident. He was just 13.

“Anybody that you ask about him, they’re going to say he was a good kid,” Sarah said.

“He was so sportsy and so good, and all the girls liked him.”

Even after the tragic hardships they endured, the Bledsoe family was determined that wouldn’t be the end of Daryll’s run. So, they organized a memorial co-ed softball tournament in his honor, Dingers for Daryll.

“We decided to put something together for his one year [anniversary] of being gone,” Sarah said. “We did softball because he loved anything to do with baseball or softball.”

The proceeds of the event were tossed over to the Jay County Baseball Club, an organization that is partnered with Daryll’s former team. For his little brother, Dimari Bledsoe, the event means more.

“I don’t really care about the money, it’s just the memories,” Dimari said. “Sometimes we fought, sometimes we argued, normal sibling stuff, but usually we hung out and had a good time.”

The same goes for Daryll’s aunt Krista Strait, who helped to organize and put the event together.

“We’re all out here to celebrate his life, and have fun and smile,” Strait said. “It’s not about people being ugly today, it’s just about having fun.”

For Daryll’s grandmother Ruth Gaskill, the way the community in Jay County and Dunkirk, Indiana, has rallied together to support her family and the tournament has been unreal.

“The communities in Jay County are just amazing,” Gaskill said. “They’ve always pulled together.”

Sarah feels the same sentiment, but the reason for the gathering still brings its pain.

“It makes me feel good for people to come together like this,” Sarah said. “It really touches my heart, but at the same time I’m sad because he’s not here.”

With each dinger though, the Bledsoe family feels as if Daryll may just be there, ready to take the mound once again.

“Every time I see a butterfly, I’m like, there he is,” Sarah said. “I do feel like he’s around.”

“Daryll will always and forever be in our heart,” Dimari said.

“I’m sure he’s up there trying to catch some balls up in heaven,” Strait said. “He’s definitely here with all of us, and to see a lot of his friends out here and so many people supporting this cause, it really warms my heart.”

“He could run so fast, and he could hit really good,” Gaskill said. “God has a plan for everybody. He’s always going to be in our hearts.”

Plans have been made to bring the tournament back again next year, so that Daryll’s spirit never fades from his beloved park.

Contact Andy Newman with comments at asnewman2@bsu.edu.

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