Memorial softball game aids officer's family

Two local softball teams are looking to give back to a local hero today. Arcadia and Vanlue will face off in a memorial benefit game in honor of Bluffton police officer Dominic Francis, who was killed in the line of duty on March 31. The game will take place at 5 p.m. at Vanlue Community Park, with over a dozen raffle baskets from local businesses, as well as a 50/50. All proceeds will go back to the Francis family. Admission to the game is free. Before his death, Francis helped out with Cory-Rawson's softball team. "I was shocked to hear the news of Officer Francis passing," Arcadia head softball coach Dave Spridgeon said. "Immediately upon hearing the news, I reached out to one of my softball parents, Ruthie Tong, about doing something to show our support for Coach Francis and the Cory-Rawson softball team. "Ruthie secured green, yellow and blue ribbon that our girls wore on their cleats as a sign of unity for Cory-Rawson softball as well as law enforcement. Emily Rank is a junior on our team and her father, John Rank, is a sheriff deputy for Hancock County. Emily's mother, Mindy, wanted to do something to help and support local law enforcement. Mindy had the idea to buy the Dominic Francis T-shirts for us to wear in a game." The Wildcats and Redskins will be donning green and yellow uniforms tonight in honor of the Cory-Rawson community. Arcadia will wear green shirts and green socks, while Vanlue will wear yellow T-shirts and yellow socks. Jason Yoakam designed the T-shirts with the help of Jena Stearns, and they were produced at Beyond Laser Creations in Fostoria. Keith's Dugout donated the T-shirts and socks for both teams. While the two communities may be rivals on the field, diamond or court, tonight's game was a joint effort by both the Vanlue and Arcadia communities. "We reached out to coaches Taylor Kloepfer and Logan Wells at Vanlue to gauge their interest in doing a benefit game. They were immediately on board and so were our administrators," Spridgeon said. "Vanlue and Arcadia are both small-town communities who always rally around one another in their time of need. Softball is an amazing game, which is a sisterhood. We wanted to use the game to help a sister in need. This game seemed like a way to show not only the Francis family that we support them, but also to teach our young ladies that the game means so much more than wins and losses." Individuals who wish to donate to the Francis family but cannot attend tonight's game can deliver a check to either softball team with "To Officer Francis" in the memo line.