By Jason Klaiber

Staff Writer

A whole lot of heart—and a bit of a home field advantage—goes a long way.

The third annual charity softball game held last week at the Carrier Park Field of Dreams ended with the Syracuse Challenger Baseball Adult All-Stars retaining ownership of the winner’s trophy.

The bragging rights were garnered in a 16-13 victory over Niko Tamurian’s CNY Central All-Stars, which has participated in the charity game since its beginnings three years ago.

“The trophy’s great, but there’s actually a deeper meaning to this, and that’s this amazing Carrier Park Field of Dreams and those children and players of Syracuse Challenger Baseball that inspired the building of this amazing park,” Dom Cambareri, the executive director of Syracuse Challenger Baseball, said.

Around 2007, the local Challenger Baseball team increased in membership to about 200 players, necessitating a field of its own that would accommodate the special needs of the children, teenagers and adults on its roster.

“We began growing at a very rapid pace because lots of kids and their parents wanted to have the same experience every able-bodied child has, and that is to play the great American game of baseball during the summer,” Cambareri said.

In 2010, Carrier Corporation donated the 25-acre recreational park formerly used by its employees to the Town of DeWitt.

The park located at 1033 Kinne St. in East Syracuse eventually opened on May 21, 2016.

Preceding the August 5 charity game benefiting the park, Cambareri sang the national anthem and announced that a Phase 2 expansion would be finished in the fall.

The project, planned to conclude in November, would entail the construction of an enclosed concession area that would seat 80 to 100 people as well as a boundless playground set to be “the biggest from here to Buffalo” according to Cambareri.

The expansion would also include three basketball courts with adjustable hoops, the additions of synthetic surfaces on the park’s infields to accommodate devices like wheelchairs, and an artificially turfed “super field” allowing for baseball, softball, field hockey, lacrosse and soccer games—and, in some cases, multiple games at once.

Cambareri said the all-encompassing and fully accessible “super field,” estimated to cost between $5 and $8 million, would be the “crown jewel” of the park.

“I’ve never been part of a more awesome cause than what’s come to fruition here,” Tamurian, the sports director for CNY Central, said.

In the seven-inning game, Tamurian and his fellow news station employees held the Syracuse Challenger Baseball Adult All-Stars to a tie before special guest and Syracuse Mets catcher Colton Plaia belted out a three-run, walk-off homer for the defending winners.

“You can’t write a script better than that,” Cambareri said.

He said, however, that the charity games serve a purpose no matter who comes out on top.

“Regardless of what the score is on the scoreboard, these events really, really bring home the importance of getting families and people together on the baseball field,” he said.

Mike Marra provided play-by-play throughout the game.