Prior to Steph General Restoule’s passing, she had a special request for her cousin Tony Johnson.
Described by Johnson as “An amazing woman,” Restoule prior to losing her battle in May 2017 with cancer, asked Johnson if he could orchestrate a memorial 3-pitch tournament to honour her legacy if she passed away.
“Loving mother, wife, daughter, sister, auntie, niece, cousin and friend,” Johnson said about Restoule, who played ball and had a strong passion for the sport.
“Steph played ball for many years. Growing up she played for the Little Mohawks Fastball team,” Johnson said. “As an adult she played slow pitch for the Hawks, Whoop Di Doo, E-Z Goin and more. She was also the assistant coach for the Sour Springs Masters Women’s Fastball team.”
Sports history was officially made when in May 2019, at the Townsend Lion Club diamonds, 15 teams came out and competed while of course sharing some good laughs and honoring Steph at the first Annual Steph General Restoule Memorial 3-pitch tournament.
Making this tournament so successful was help from the General family, including Steph’s mom, Deb General, along with help from good friends, which made that tournament’s first year so memorable.
“This tournament is all about playing in her honour and remembering her from the ball field. A place where she loved to be,” Johnson said.
“Steph had a laugh that could be heard from a mile away and a heart of gold that could be seen all over the world. Steph wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone in need. She was always the biggest fan to her family especially to her boys, nieces and nephews, siblings and mom.”
Originally, the second year of the tournament was scheduled for back in May but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was pushed back to late September/early October before officially getting cancelled all together due to the world- wide virus. Unlike that first year, which had 15 teams, this years’ Steph General Restoule Memorial 3-pitch tournament was supposed to have 12 teams, as three cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, due to growing case numbers of COVID-19, we decided to cancel this years’ tournament in order to keep our family and community safe,” Johnson said.
