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V.S. Central athlete gives back for lil' bud

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Central High School varsity baseball captain Vito Friscia is no stranger to homeruns, but his newest quest for the long ball comes not from a desire to win the game, but to warm a friend’s heart. He partnered with the American Kidney Fund to help deliver a homerun for a local child with a possibly fatal illness.

Friscia, who will play on Hofstra University’s baseball team next year, will participate in the International Power Showcase later this month in Miami. The showcase, which includes some of the best high school baseball players from around the country and the world, includes the Homeruns that Help homerun derby, designed to allow athletes to use their talents for causes near to their heart. Friscia will be collecting donations for The American Kidney Fund in the name of Daniel Vecchione, a six-year-old Valley Stream resident and baseball fan who suffers from serious kidney disease.

“When I first got a call about the showcase, the person on the phone told me about Homeruns that Help,” Friscia said. “Daniel’s name sprang right to my mind, and I knew that I wanted to try to use this to do something for him. We’ve got a pretty good relationship, our families are close and he’s had it really tough, so I wanted to help.”

The pair met about a year ago, when Friscia’s mother, a teacher at Shaw Avenue Elementary School, had Vecchione in her kindergarten class. The pair bonded over a mutual love of baseball, and a friendship was born.

“The two of them really have gotten pretty close,” Friscia’s father, Vito Sr., said. “Vito felt a close connection to Daniel and he saw all the terrible things he’s gone through and wanted to do something to make him happy and help people like Daniel.”

Vecchione was diagnosed with Congenital Hepatic Phybrosis, a genetic disease that affects the hepatobiliary and renal systems, at just a year and a half old. That disease led to portal hypertension, which causes dangerously high blood pressure.

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