Coming off the well received and attended initial memorial event held in concert with the Mt. Hope High School wrestling program last winter, the inaugural Brian Latessa Softball Tournament, held in the honor of the Huskies' one-time head coach, takes place at Colt State Park in Bristol Saturday, April 26, beginning at 8 a.m.

Latessa, who unexpectedly passed away in August of 2024, was a teacher and wrestling coach at Mt. Hope, where he served the communities of Bristol and Warren for 24 years. Then proceeds from the softball tournament will go to the scholarship fund as did the some $2,000 raised from the first Brian Latessa Scholarship Night held during a MHHS wrestling meet in January. The funds will be directed to a Mt. Hope High senior wrestler in pursuit of further study.

"As a family we wanted to be able to honor my dad's memory by being able to give back to seniors at Mt.Hope who are involved in wrestling and broadcasting. My dad always made sure his students felt supported, and we wanted to carry this on in any way we could," Latessa's daughter, Domenique, explained.

The softball tournament is open to both men's and women's teams. It includes concessions, raffle items such a solo stove (donated by Matt Brito), a Yeti Cooler (donated by Aubuchon), a weekend in New Hampshire at Mt. Washington, and many gift cards to local restaurants, breweries, and businesses as well as a 50-50 raffle. Entry fee is $300 per team and comes with a three-game guarantee. Pool play is single elimination. For more information or to register contact Chris Harvey at 401-439-5492 and Charvey99@cox.net or Domenique Latessa at 401-752-9767 and dlatessa05@gmail.com. The rain date is April 27, same time and place.

The event was a natural extension for Domenique, an accomplished player in her days at Mt. Hope High and later Rhode Island College who continues to compete in the sport in local recreational league.

"My dad and I spent many afternoons in the backyard hitting balls, and training to be a college softball player," Domenique said. "He would always attend all my games and be sure to sit right behind the fence in left field to watch me play first or catch. He always said, 'It was the best seat in the house.'"

She continued, "There were many weekends spent at Colt State playing tournaments and of course many out of state tournaments. Playing ball together is one of our most cherished memories together. He even came up with the idea to throw the softball around for our father/daughter dance at my wedding that we did, six days prior to him unexpectedly passing."

The Latessa family extended their appreciation to Michele Martins and the staff at the Bristol Parks and Recreation Department for helping to provide the fields for the weekend, along with Chris Harvey for helping organize the tournament, getting all the key essentials done and for the help from the McCormack family.

Sponsors of the event include Matt Brito at 1776 Liquors, Market Street Pub, Club Canine, Rod’s Grille, Pete Food’s Plus, Riccotti’s, Ace Hardware, Vigilant Brewery, Tragmar Brewery, Judge Roy Bean, The Nest, Bristol House of Pizza, Clement’s Marketplace, Portside Tavern, Roberto’s, The Aviary, Palmer River Grille and Gold Medal Bakery.

Domenique added. "We would love to see the community come down Saturday to grab something to eat, cheer on some teams, and get some raffles."