Kathy Kilduff talks to the HHS softball team Monday before presenting the players with custom jackets. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO

The Lauren Anderson Softball Field Project again is showing its support for the Hopkinton High School softball team. Two years after the refurbishment and rededication of Lauren Anderson Field, project organizers Riki Anderson Rubin and Kathy Kilduff on Monday presented the Athletic Department with a Changeup Super Softball Pitching Machine with cart and team windbreakers displaying the HHS logo. Lauren’s initials appear on the cuff.

“It’s important that the girls understand the program’s history,” said softball coach Shannon Allberry-Yerardi. “With Lauren’s initials on their new warmup jackets, hopefully they’ll remember that they’re playing for their teammates — past and present — and will be ready to give it their all for Hopkinton High School.”

Assistant coach Jessica Karner noted that the pitching machine will help players hone their skills and grow as a team. “These gifts continue Lauren’s legacy and enable the softball program to continue to improve,” she said.

In 2019, to mark the 25th anniversary of Lauren’s death, this volunteer group launched a fundraiser to renovate Field 6 at HHS. Thanks to donations and in-kind services, the project raised more than $30,000 to refurbish the scoreboard and add a set of bleachers, two dugouts with benches and bat racks, dugout and outfield windscreens and fence toppers.

With major field work completed, the Lauren Anderson Softball Field Project team wanted to underscore Lauren’s legacy with an additional donation. The group worked with the athletic director and softball coaches to identify some team needs. Rubon and Kilduff presented the new gear and equipment to the school at a team practice Monday.

“Lauren’s legacy lives on,” Kilduff said. “She continues to touch the lives of these young women. We will always remember her sparkle.”

Team members display their new warmup jackets. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO