One of the highlights at the Trenton Softball Hall of Fame’s annual banquet is the awarding of $29,000 in scholarships to six high seniors who either play baseball and softball. To date, the Hall has handed out over $350,000 in scholarship money over the years. In addition to five softball players , the baseball player who will receive a scholarship this year is Andrew Maddalena of Hamilton High. Headed to Rowan University in the fall, Maddalena has been a member of the Hamilton varsity baseball team all four years. He also played basketball for the Hornets for two years. As a freshman, Maddalena was named team Rookie of the Year and received CVC honorable mention recognition. In his sophomore season he batted .333 and as a part-time pitcher compiled an ERA of 0.95. After undergoing Tommy John surgery in September of 2023, Maddalena came back strong to hit .361 as a junior and drive in 17 runs. He was named team MVP and received second team ALL-CVC honors. He also was selected to be a member of the Carpenter Cup team. Maddalena was also a member of the 15-year-old Hamilton Babe Ruth All-Star team that competed in the World Series in Virginia. In addition to giving his time to participate in a host of community service organizations, Maddalena is a fine student with a weighted GPA of 4.15 and is ranked 47th out of 291 students. His goals at Rowan University are to play baseball and to study civil engineering with an emphasis on construction and design. The inductees in the Men’s Player Division this year are Mark Heltzman, Eddie Ervin, Kirk Hvasta and Tom Bliznawicz. Tim Gandy will join the hall in the Player/Manager division and the sponsor is Villa Mannino’s. The softball players receiving scholarships are Ariana Tomlinson of Robbinsville, Steinert’s Katie Simonka, Notre Dame’s Bianca Pesce and Madelena Creo, and Olivia Pignatello of Hightstown. The banquet will be held on May 18 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Mercer Oaks Golf Course. Tickets can be purchased in advance by contacting Artie Kearns nddart@aol.com 609-771-6143 or John Adubato at  john_adubato@yahoo.com 609-273-4496. ...read more read less