Tributes pour in for Long Beach boy who died while playing baseball

Families across Long Island and the country have paid tribute to 10-year-old Lazar LaPenna, who died last Friday while playing in a Little League baseball game, by leaving bats, helmets and hats outside their front doors.

The hashtag #BatsOutForLazar, is just one of many memorials for the fourth-grader from East Elementary School in Long Beach, who died last week, two days after his 10th birthday. He suffered an epileptic seizure after hitting a ball and running to first base, his father, Gregg LaPenna told Newsday.

LaPenna told Newsday Monday "The community has been incredible," adding that the support his family has received has been "breathtaking." 

Even the New York Mets left three bats outside their clubhouse Wednesday in honor of the little boy who was their biggest fan.

“Remembering the life of 10-year-old Lazar LaPenna,” the Mets wrote on social media. “We send our love and support to his family and teammates in the Long Beach/Lido Little League."

Hats and flowers hang at the ballfield in Point Lookout where Lazar got his last hit and collapsed. But the boy's death has also sparked an outpouring of national support on social media and in little leagues.

Seaford Little League president TJ Koerner, along with coaches from his league's district, said they started the #BatsOutForLazar movement to show solidarity with the LaPenna family. In honor of Lazar, Koerner and teams in his district are asking Little League players to wear their jerseys on Monday, May 9, to honor number 9, Lazar's last jersey number. 

Massapequa International, Massapequa Coast, Wantagh, Bellmore-Merrick, North Bellmore and North Merrick are among the teams in Seaford's district that will participate. 

“I think it’s growing like wildfire because we’re getting reached out from places all over the country,” Koerner said. “We’re hoping to see every Little League kid, hopefully in the country, wearing their jerseys on Monday. Little League is a family.”

The jersey number already had a great deal of significance for Koerner because his two kids — Thomas, 10, and Delaney, 6 — both wear number 9 while playing Little League Baseball.

“Number 9 is like a big deal in my house, I wore it when I played baseball and football and my kids just took it over,” Koerner said. “When I saw that he wore number 9, it hit home even more. He’s the same age as my son.”

One Facebook post, which was shared by the Long Beach School District, asked people to wear purple on Friday to bring awareness to epilepsy.

In a statement, Long Beach school Superintendent Jennifer Gallagher said,+ “the death of Lazar LaPenna has been heartbreaking for our entire community,”

“This week our district focused on supporting Lazar’s family, and our students and staff as they processed this tragedy,” Gallagher wrote. “We will continue to provide counseling and support in any way we can. Many in our community are discussing appropriate ways to remember Lazar, and we will be speaking with his family about the best way to celebrate and honor the life of this special little boy.”