Batter Up!

Baseball is widely accepted as America's favorite past time — especially during the summer months! Boys and girls of all ages try their swing at the plate, whether it's in an organized tee-ball league or a competitive softball club.

Xavier Polisetty, a Grapevine 7-year-old, has a deep love for the game of baseball — a love that led him to enter into the Diamonds in the Rough youth baseball contest sponsored by Briggs & Stratton, an international producer of gasoline engines. The contest will award $100,000 to youth winners across the country, specifically aimed to help maintain the child's chosen ball park.

Xavier penned an essay for the contest, saying that he would use the $5,000 regional prize to "help Grapevine to improve the Oak Grove ballfield. We have so many teams. The ballfield is too small. We need more batting cages, more restrooms. Also, we need a better water drainage system. When it rains, we can’t play and I miss it a lot."

His essay and obvious dedication to the game won him the $5,000 prize — and now he's batting for the national grand prize: an additional $5,000 for his chosen field (the Oak Grove Park) and a trip for four to New York City to see a game in the final season of Yankee Stadium!

But Xavier needs your help! Go to the Diamonds in the Rough contest Web site and vote (he is competing against 19 other regional winners across the nation).

Online voting ends at at midnight on April 20 — so click and vote for a good cause!

—Gretchen