Ward Melville softball game honors Gabby Petito's memory
The Ward Melville team poses holds their bats up for Gabby Petito’s grandmother, Mary Wickman (center) while raising money and awareness for the Gabby Petito Foundation prior to Suffolk softball game on Saturday, May 3, 2025 in East Setauket. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Gabby Petito’s story has impacted many across the country and illuminated the need for domestic abuse education and prevention strategies.
That’s what the Ward Melville softball team wanted its fifth annual charity game to be all about.
The bleachers at Ward Melville were filled Saturday morning with purple shirts that read, “Love doesn’t hurt. End the cycle,” across the back.
Petito, a Blue Point native, died by manual strangulation in 2021 at age 22 while on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, who later admitted killing her.
As of early Saturday afternoon, the team had raised $8,670 for the Gabby Petito Foundation, created by Petito’s family with the mission to address the needs of organizations that support locating missing persons and to provide aid to organizations that assist victims of domestic violence situations.
Mary Wickman, Petito’s grandmother and the foundation’s fundraising coordinator, and other family members were honored in a pregame ceremony. Bubba Wickman, an eighth-grader at Selden Middle School and Petito’s cousin, threw the ceremonial first pitch.
“What they are doing to raise money for the foundation is overwhelming that they would do this much for us,” Mary Wickman said. “To see everyone here, it brings awareness and that’s what we really want. We want to bring awareness to everyone. Young and old, male and female, all need to have awareness.”
Signs with information about domestic abuse and resources were posted around the bleachers and behind the Ward Melville dugout, along with signs honoring Petito’s life. Petito’s name and her favorite number – 27 – were posted on the outfield fence.
Wickman was presented with a softball signed by the entire Ward Melville softball team.
“I have a Babe Ruth signed ball and this one is more important,” Wickman said with a laugh.
“If there’s anyone sitting out in the crowd today that got some education on what takes place, if we can help just one or two people out there, it’s pretty impressive,” Ward Melville coach Joseph Burger said. “As a father myself, it’s unimaginable what happened to Gabby. To be able help and maybe shed light and prevent it from happening to someone else is what we’re looking to achieve.”
Ward Melville has held a charity game each of the last five years honoring a local cause. Burger and the team were inspired by “American Murder: Gabby Petito,” a Netflix docuseries that premiered in February.
“These girls are going off to college and they get in relationships… I just wanted to make sure they kind of understood to be careful, be safe, know the warning signs,” Burger said.
Before the game, Isabella Parente, Sara Kropp, Cate Scolaro and Kaityln Morales each delivered a speech discussing what they have learned about domestic abuse in the last few months.
“I learned that abuse involves more than just physical violence,” Kropp said. “Domestic abuse isn’t limited to physical harm. It can include emotional, verbal, psychological, sexual and financial abuse. These forms of abuse can be just as harmful as physical violence, often leaving invisible scars that are harder to repair.”
Sophie Reed went 2-for-2 and hit a grand slam in the first inning of the Patriots’ 17-5 non-league win over Bellport (6-10) in five innings.
Morales went 3-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs, Julianna Russ went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and Makenna Steinberg struck out 10 and allowed two earned runs in five innings for Ward Melville (11-4).
Reed, a senior, has been a part of each of the team’s charity games.
“We really wanted to contribute to [solving] a problem that so many people are suffering silently from,” Reed said. “There is help. You might feel trapped, but there are so many outlets to get out of a situation that you think you can’t get out of. You don’t have to suffer in silence.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
