Salvatore Sciangula describes his son, Joey, as a “talented baseball player.”

When he and his wife moved with Joey from Rockaway in Queens to Windham in the Catskills, they wanted their son to be able to play ball.

In 2021, Sciangula started a free instructional baseball program called Sandlot Sundays in Maplecrest, where kids would meet up and play sandlot-style baseball while receiving instruction and clinics.

Soon after, he said, Phil Devlin, also from Windham, came on board to assist. They coached the MountainTop Little League Mets in a league that covers the Windham and Hunter Mountain areas.

In 2021, Joey played on the MountainTop team for the summer season. Then, last year, he played spring ball for the Greenville Community Youth League and summer ball for Mountaintop.

“I organized a scrimmage game between those two teams, which went amazingly well,” said Sciangula. “It was the first time in a very long time that a MountainTop team played outside its own league.”

In the fall of 2022, Joey also played for Berne-Knox-Westerlo Little League, since fall ball wasn’t offered anywhere closer.

“So this year,” said Sciangula, “we are producing a three-game tournament between his three teams.” It’s called the Mountain-Valley Youth Baseball Tournament.

The first game, on June 4, was hosted by the Greenville CYL in the town park. The second game, on June 11, was hosted by Berne-Knox-Westerlo Little League in the Westerlo town park, and the third game will be on June 19 at the Windham Little League field hosted by the MountainTop Little League.

“You kind of become a baseball family,” said Sciangula of those who have worked together to host the three-game tournament.

“This is completely done on a nonprofit basis,” said Sciangula who last year funded it all himself for close to $500.

“This year, we have generous sponsors to help cover some of our out-of-pocket expenses,” he said, naming those providing trophies, ice cream, pizza, and more.

“Each involved league is hosting their own games and providing field dress, umpires, music, and announcers,” he said.

“It was a great game last year, and these three games should be an even better experience for these kids,” said Sciangula. “We’ve also already heard from a few other leagues who are interested in involvement next year.”

He concluded, “We want to keep this free for kids, keep them off their screens and getting fresh air.”