Oceanside remembers Zach Allen with second annual memorial softball tournament on July 14

Oceanside is gearing up for the second annual Zachary Allen Classic Memorial Softball Tournament, which is set to take place at Oceanside Park on July 14 at 10 a.m. after being rescheduled from the 13 due to weather.

The event was created last year to honor the memory of Allen, the 23-year-old Oceanside resident who died in a car crash on June 15, 2022. Last year’s inaugural tournament was a success due to the dedication of Allen’s long-time friends, Alex Ducorsky and Jake Manyin, who spearheaded the event.

Ducorsky and Manyin were two of Allen’s best friends on the Oceanside Mariners travel softball team, and the duo decided to create an event that would pay tribute to him. Manyin and Ducorsky attended elementary school together in Oceanside, and the trio grew up three blocks from one another.

Some of the players on the team have remained friends for the past 20 years, and they decided on a softball tournament to honor Allen by playing the game he and his friends loved the most.

The memorial tournament will feature 12 teams, and more than 150 players will take part. Allen’s close friends and family members will be the captains of all 12 teams.

Once the framework for the tournament was established, Manyin and Ducorsky began creating a scholarship to be presented at Oceanside High School in memory of Allen, who graduated from there in 2017 before attending the University of Buffalo, where he earned a degree in 2021. The preparations for this year’s tournament began almost immediately after last year’s tournament ended.

“We started planning about a week after the first tournament,” Manyin said. “From securing the park to improving logistical aspects like food truck placements and raffle quality, we’ve been in constant communication to ensure this year is even better.”

The duo has been keen to incorporate lessons learned from last year. Last year’s tournament raised $16,000. This year, the number of raffles has been reduced, but the quality of the prizes has increased significantly, offering more high-end prizes. Ducorsky, who’s handling much of the technological and design aspects, has updated the tournament’s logo and shirt colors to keep the event fresh and engaging.

“Starting from scratch was challenging,” Ducorsky said. “But the support from the community and the positive feedback from the participants and even the umpires made it all worthwhile.”

The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive, the event’s organizers added. All 12 teams from the previous year are returning, and the excitement continues to build. Manyin, who now resides in North Carolina, said he frequently receives messages from participants expressing their anticipation.

“People are excited and looking forward to it,” Manyin said. “It’s not just a tournament, it’s an event that brings everyone together.”

This sense of community is further reflected in the support for the scholarship fund established in Allen’s name. The money raised from the tournament goes to two Oceanside seniors. Last year, the recipients were Olivia Ormiston and Alexander Roemer.

This year’s recipients of the Zachary Allen Memorial Scholarship Fund were seniors Gabriella Cutrone and Steven Plesser. The scholarship is awarded in Allen’s memory to students who exhibit a strong GPA of 90 or above, a passion for life, and an ambitious character, and plan to attend a four-year SUNY college in the fall.

Ducorsky said Plesser even wrote a heartfelt letter expressing his gratitude and desire to learn more about Allen and the organizers of the scholarship fund.

“We’re taking it upon ourselves to invite him to the tournament, introduce ourselves, and show our appreciation that he was appreciative of the scholarship,” Ducorsky said. “To me, that’s really what it’s all about.”

Ducorsky and Manyin have ambitious plans for the tournament. Beyond the logistics and planning, the tournament is a time for friends and family to come together and share memories of Allen. Manyin and Ducorsky have fond recollections of him from their time playing softball together on the Oceanside Mariners. A standout memory for Ducorsky was the time they spent together at Cooperstown Dreams Park, during a weeklong baseball tournament that fostered deep bonds among teammates.

“Living together in close quarters for a week was a unique experience that brought us even closer,” Ducorsky recalled.

Manyin singled out a poignant moment from last year’s tournament when Allen’s father, Bob, addressed the crowd.

“Obviously it’s an emotional day, it’s the first annual memorial tournament for his son, and he held it together like a rock and even cracked jokes,” Manyin said. “Everybody laughing and being together was what stood out to me.”

Through the tournament and scholarship fund, Ducorsky and Manyin, along with the Oceanside community, are committed to ensuring that Allen’s legacy continues to inspire and bring people together for years to come.

“I think he would be proud that we’re all staying close, and that we’ve become friends with his Buffalo friends, and our baseball friends are still in the loop,” Manyin said. “It’s not just this event that brings us together, it’s him, and himself that has brought us together. And I think that he would have loved that.”