Midnight Baseball Tournament Celebrates Late Amarillo Teen

Amarillo is a place that is rooted in community and doing the right things. This past weekend, that was on full display at the Rick Klein baseball complex as many people came together to get the fields ready after rain had hit the previous evening.

This wasn't just a typical baseball tourney; it was the Jaxson Mendoza benefit tournament, and there was no way it was going to be canceled.

Who Is Jaxson Mendoza

You may remember Jaxson's story. He was a 14-year-old student at Amarillo High School who was an epileptic when he suffered a seizure on the track, doing some warmup with the basketball team. Paramedics were called, as were his parents, Gabriel and Apryl.

When Gabriel arrived, he was told by the basketball coach that he had been seizing for 17 minutes. According to his 504 Action Plan on file with the school, his nasal medication was supposed to be applied if he were to seize for longer than five minutes. It was not, and sadly, Mendoza passed away from complications due to the seizure.

Amarillo Bands Together For Jaxson

The family set up the Jaxson Mendoza Scholarship Foundation after his passing, and one of the things they decided to do was a baseball tournament, as Jaxson was a player himself. This year, they decided to do a midnight madness tournament, which was a ton of fun.

However, the night before the tournament was supposed to be played, it rained a fair amount, and the fields were on the brink of being unplayable. A message went out asking for help, and people showed up in a hurry, including me. It was amazing to see how many showed up and got the fields playable.

An Amazing Tournament

Games kicked off at 6 pm on Friday and ran through 4 am on Saturday. Everyone was back at the fields Saturday evening around the same time, and the tournament wrapped up at around 4 am on Sunday. Without the help of the community, this benefit tournament never would've gotten a chance to get off the ground.

Both of my boys got the chance to play in the tournament, with my oldest getting to play in the championship game in his division and finishing with a runner-up performance. A great tournament for a good cause, and a community that came together to make it happen.