On Feb. 22, 2015, Patrick Awosogba, a School of Arts & Sciences student at Rutgers University, passed away playing in a pickup basketball game at the Cook/Douglass Recreation Center.
Awosogba, a freshman, had a rare heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, where the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, causing an arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
Every summer since, Greg Sampson, a former East Brunswick High School (EBHS) classmate and baseball teammate, organizes a wiffle ball tournament fundraiser to raise scholarship money for Awosogba’s parents to present to a highly-deserving EBHS student.
The tournament has raised approximately $6,000 for the scholarship in its first three years. Past scholarship recipients include Amir Bell, a childhood friend of Awosogba who recently played four years of basketball at Princeton University and just signed a professional basketball contract in Italy; Kyle Potkulski, who played Little League and high school baseball with Awosogba; and EBHS graduate David Bermudez.
The tournament will be held on Aug. 24 at East Brunswick Baseball League, 367 Dunhams Corner Road East, East Brunswick. Check-in is from 10-10:45 a.m.
There will be two age groups: young adult and adult. Three to four players are on a team with the cost of $10 per player.
Rules will be posted at the field.
To volunteer as an umpire for the young adult division or to sign up via email, message scholarshipforbj@gmail.com with team name, division and the number of players.
Additional contributions will be accepted via check be made payable to Patrick O. Awosogba Memorial Fund, c/o EBHS, 380 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick 08816; or online at www.gofundme.com/gs-scholarship-in-honor-of-bj.
