Article by Newsday’s Mike Gavin:
Before every game, Katherine Piorkowski puts a sunflower in her hair.
“I used to wear bows,” said Piorkowski, the starting pitcher for the Kellenberg softball team. “But the sunflower symbolizes happiness, and I always felt happy when I was with my dad. So I wear it to honor him.”
Her father, Steve Piorkowski — who coached softball, basketball, and bowling at Bayside High School in Queens — passed away Feb. 18 at the age of 54, after a three-year battle with cancer.
Saturday night, Katherine Piorkowski and the Firebirds will play in his memory when they take on St. Anthony’s at Skelos Complex in Rockville Centre at 7:30 to benefit the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
“The outpouring we are receiving is unbelievable, but it’s also believable,” Piorkowski said.
Read the entire article on Newsday.com:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/high-school/softball/katherine-piorkowski-to-honor-dad-a-longtime-high-school-sports-coach-1.10291069