Southwest Greensburg baseball team raises money for Nico's Warriors

On the first day of a charity baseball tournament in Southwest Greensburg, Devils became Warriors to honor one of their own.

As of Friday, the Southwest Greensburg youth baseball team, long known as the Red Devils, changed its name to the Warriors. The name is a reference to Nico's Warriors, the organization founded to raise money for 8-year-old Nico Salvio, a member of the team.

Nico was born with congenital heart disease. He's had two open-heart surgeries, and is on the waiting list for a heart transplant.

His medical bills are more than the family can afford, so a kids' baseball tournament at Southwest Greensburg's Red Devils Park was organized to raise money.

“We decided to have a fundraiser for him, because even though he has real good insurance, his medicines are $800 to $1,000 a month,” Southwest Greensburg Recreation Director Dan Ranieri said.

Ranieri hoped to raise at least $2,000 at this weekend's six-team tournament. He wants to expand it further in future years, moving to a bigger venue to incorporate more teams and raise more money.

“We're just going to keep doing this, and making it bigger and bigger,” he said.

Nico plays for Southwest Greensburg, though because of his condition he can only bat, not take the field.

Other than throwing out the first pitch, Nico wasn't able to play in Friday's tournament games because of the heat, but he didn't mind taking it easy.

“Good thing I'm not playing today, because I don't have to do anything,” he said.

Ranieri said he looks forward to Nico being a member of the Warriors for years to come.

“He's a good kid. I can't wait until the day his heart comes in and he can play,” he said.

The tournament will continue through Sunday, with the possibility of extra games on Monday, if needed.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.