UMATILLA, Ore.-The Umatilla High School Varsity Softball team hosted Echo/Stanfield in its annual Strike Out Cancer softball game on April 21.
Presented by Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS), Umatilla wore commemorative teal ovarian cancer awareness jerseys for the game and players and coaches received GSHCS goody bags.
An online auction to benefit the Jordan Bennett Legacy (JBL) Foundation was held leading up to the game.
Umatilla Head Coach Erick Olson has been participating in cancer awareness benefit games since 2017, first with Sisters Influencing Survivorship, and with the JBL Foundation since 2023
“It started as an opportunity to show our girls there’s something bigger than softball,” said Olson. “It still is, but like so many who have been touched by cancer, there’s now a personal component.”
Jordan Bennett taught third grade at McNary Heights Elementary in Umatilla, and was an assistant coach, pitching coach, and JV softball coach at Umatilla High School, as well as giving private lessons around the region.
In 2023, Bennett was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away in June of that year.
Some of the players taking the field for Umatilla were in elementary school at McNary Heights when Bennett taught there, and the annual Strike Out Cancer game has become a way to celebrate her legacy.
“In addition to raising money, one of the goals now is to honor Jordan’s memory and the impact she had in the classroom and on our program,” said Olson.
The game
This year’s Vikings softball team is the youngest group Olson has ever had at Umatilla, comprised solely of freshman and sophomores, with several girls never having played at all before this season.
“We’re very young, so this year isn’t about putting W’s on the board,” said Olson. “It’s about getting better every day. Can we keep growing?”
Umatilla is winless this season in the 3A Special District 2 league, one of the toughest leagues in the state.
While the Vikings ultimately fell 16-1, the lessons from the game went beyond the diamond, with the real win being the money raised and the impact it will have on students and athletes through the JBL Foundation.
Over $2,500 was raised on the day of the game through the auction and other Strike Out Cancer activities, and Olson expects the final tally to be over $3,000 when all donations are counted.
The Jordan Bennett Legacy Foundation
Bennett played softball from an early age and competed collegiately at Blue Mountain Community College and Northwest Christian University before becoming a teacher and coach.
Following Jordan’s death in 2023, the Bennett family started the Jordan Bennett Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring Jordan’s life and fulfilling her dream of helping kids succeed on the field and in the classroom.
“The foundation has had a lot of success,” said Olson. “Everything helps the three-pronged goals of the foundation: Jordan’s Locker, Books for third graders, and scholarships.”
Jordan’s Locker provides athletic equipment for student athletes facing financial burdens and has provided dozens of pairs of cleats and gloves to kids in the area, according to Olson.
Books for 3rd Graders is a program that provides books to third grade students at McNary Heights Elementary three times a year that students are able to keep to help foster a love of learning and reading.
The JBL also awards scholarships each year to senior softball players in Umatilla or the surrounding area to help them pursue their educational goals and dreams.
Hermiston’s Whitney MacKay, Pendleton’s Cambria VanNice, and Weston-McEwen’s Brielle Ward were awarded JBL Foundation scholarships this year.
Strike Out Cancer 2026 activities
Strike Out Cancer activities started the day before the game with a free softball skills camp for youth aged 14 and under, that was attended by About 17 kids, mostly between the ages of 9 and 12.
Camp attendees learned softball skills and enjoyed some ballpark cuisine, including a hot dog dinner with their families.
Proceeds from the online auction that ended at 5 p.m. on April 21 will help fund the JBL Foundation and its programs. After the game, the first-ever Strike Out Cancer Hit-a-Thon was held on the varsity softball field.
Contestants donated for the opportunity to compete in the 11 and under, 12-17, and 18-and-up categories for the farthest hit softballs, or the most balls hit over the 210’ outfield fence.
“Strike Out Cancer is an opportunity to teach each generation of girls about something greater than themselves,” said Olson.
Umatilla softball will now hit the road for four games, but returns to their home diamond for a doubleheader against Enterprise/Joseph/Wallowa on May 8, with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
More information on the Jordan Bennett Legacy Foundation, its programs and how to donate, is available online.
