Maricopa Sandlot girls’ softball hosts a second “Hit It for Hydie” tournament this Saturday and Sunday at Copper Sky softball fields to benefit the Maricopa family that lost their daughter in a State Route 347 car crash last year.

The event benefits the Fernandez family, whose 10-year-old daughter Suheiry “Hydie” Fernandez, a Legacy Traditional School student, died in a multi-vehicle crash in March 2023.

Last year’s “Hit It for Hydie” memorial softball tournament raised about $7,000 for the Fernandez family, and this year the event’s organizers hope to raise more to pay for Hydie’s gravesite headstone, plus the family’s lawyer fees, said Maricopa Sandlot manager Katelyn Redlin.

“We will also have a TikTok influencer, Umpire BlueLou, coming in from Minnesota,” she said.

BlueLou, dubbed the internet’s “Best Umpire Ever” with 23,000 followers and 679,000 likes on TikTok, will be the fill-in umpire for the games, Redlin said.

He’s known for his wild antics behind the plate like backflips and other gymnastics moves, just like the 2019 American Dad! episode “Fantasy Baseball.”

“We’ll have lots of raffles and food trucks there,” added Redlin. Raffles include a year’s worth of free Slim Chickens.

Maricopa Police and Fire Department personnel and Lions Club members will be there to show support, Redlin said.

Teams are coming from all over the Valley, including Chandler and Mesa, plus one team from Vail, near Tucson, she said. The girls are divided into teams aged 12 years and under, and 14 and under.

The tournament is organized by Redlin, Cody Gunther, the 12 and under girls’ coach; Mike O’Dell, owner of Maricopa Sandlot; and Cody’s wife, Amy.

The tournament runs from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Copper Sky Recreation Complex is at 44345 Martin Luther King Blvd.

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