Rachel Carey

NILES - The tradition of trading pins has become as much a part of the PONY National Tournament as softballs and bats. Getting a chance to trade pins, meet other teams and have souvenirs to keep as memories are what many players look forward to the most when coming to nationals.

"They have become so personalized to the team, and many of them now light up and spin around," said Mike Smith, director of East Zone Softball for PONY National. "The pins have just taken on a life of their own."

While many teams personalize their pins by putting on their team logo or mascot, the Connecticut Eliminators have taken personalizing pins to a whole new level. After tragedy struck their organization six years ago, the Eliminators use their pins to remember a player no longer with them. On the Eliminators' pin, a number two is coming out of a flaming softball. It is the jersey number of former player Rachel Carey, who died in a car accident in 2002 at the age of 16.

"She was our leader, she put this organization on the map," said Connecticut Eliminators Red coach Bill Russo, whose eldest daughter played with Carey. "She was one of the best pitchers in New England at the time. She already had Division I schools looking at her. She was the real deal."

Since Carey's death, the organization, which was founded by her parents, has gone to great lengths to make sure Carey's memory is never forgotten. The Eliminators host the Rachel Carey "Best of the Best Tournament" each year in their hometown of Middletown, Conn. And because Carey was a pitcher, at the end of the tournament a Most Valuable Pitcher award is given to the most outstanding hurler of the tournament.

"The girl had a heart of gold, but was a tiger when she walked into that pitching circle," Russo said. "No matter if you were the best player or didn't have the fortune to be the best player, she gave every one of her teammates a hand shake coming off the field. I would take 12 of her every year."

While the Eliminators playing in this week's tournament may never have played an inning with Carey, it doesn't mean they don't know who she was, or what kind of player she was.

"She was the driving force behind the organization," said Johanna Clair, 16, who plays on the Eliminators Red. "I was on the younger team when she passed away and we knew that we had to keep her memory alive."

And the Eliminators do every time they step on the field. Besides wearing her number on their shorts, after each game the Eliminators will do their individual team cheer, but every team shouts "Rachel" before they step off the field.

While most of the 16- and 18-year-old players at least remember Carey on the field, many of the younger Eliminators didn't know Carey.

Kelly Cocco, 17, also a player on the Eliminators Red, said Carey's memory and spirit are being passed down to the younger teams.

"She was such a big figure and we know it's our responsibility to tell the younger players about her and what kind of player she was," Cocco said. "They know who she is, so we know her memory will never go away."

And now, with Carey's number emblazened on their pin, every team in the PONY National Tournament will know who Carey was, and what she still means to the Eliminators.