It was quite a trip to Boston for Frontier’s Skyler Steele.
The junior three-sport standout was selected and participated in the ‘A Shot for Life’ Home Run Derby and Pitchers Challenge last weekend at BC High School.
A Shot for Life is “a sports based non-profit organization that funds health and cancer research initiatives. Through sports-based initiatives, community in-person events and online activities, ASFL meaningfully engages and unites communities, inspires hope and teaches community leadership.”
Steele was one of 18 players selected to compete in the home run derby from Massachusetts, and she showed incredibly well against the best the Commonwealth had to offer. The star shortstop at Frontier racked up a total of 50 home runs across two rounds of competition, ultimately finishing in fifth place overall.
In the first round, a three-minute stanza, Steele belted 30 home runs to book a spot in the finals. There, she hit 20 home runs in two minutes en route to the fifth-place showing.
Steele’s stepfather Mike Taylor helped warm Steele up by tossing batting practice to her prior to the competition, and mother Amanda Taylor also made the trip to BC High to support her daughter.
It was a worthwhile endeavor on and off the field for Steele, who was tasked with raising money for Dr. William Curry’s Cancer Research Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, with ASFL having helped fund the hospital’s immunotherapy projects since 2011.
“It’s not just about the home run derby,” Steele said prior to the competition. “It goes far beyond that. It gives you the opportunity to do something good and make the world a better place. It’s fundraising and I want to be able to help out the community and be supportive of a great cause.”