SOFTBALL GAME TO HELP A.V. STUDENTS.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

LANCASTER - The sixth annual Erica Nemback Memorial softball game will pit sheriff's deputies and California Highway Patrol officials against firefighters and ambulance personnel while raising scholarship funds for high school students.

Public-safety agencies will have displays at Lancaster Memorial Stadium during the event and the CHP officer, deputy and firefighter of the year will be recognized.

``The entire event is really to raise money for scholarships while raising awareness to the dangers of drinking and driving,'' said Deputy Mark Round of the Lancaster sheriff's station. ``It's a great event.''

The game will start at 2 p.m. Aug. 17 at the stadium, on Avenue I west of the Antelope Valley Freeway. The charity game will be followed by a minor league baseball game between the Lancaster JetHawks and the Inland Empire Sixty Sixers.

Admission to both the softball game and the JetHawks game is $6.

The game memorializes a Cottonwood Elementary School teacher, the daughter of a local CHP officer, who was killed by a drunk driver who had six prior driving-under-the-influence convictions.

The scholarships are awarded to high school students in the Antelope Valley who meet specific requirements including certain grade-point averages, community involvement, acceptance into a four-year college and considering a career in the education field.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Deputy Mark Round at [phone] or Officer Fred Oaks at [phone].