AMHERST — When games resume at the Amherst Regional High School softball diamond next spring, a new electronic scoreboard will be in place, honoring the memory of a longtime supporter of youth athletics in town.

Using money raised by the family and friends of Victor Keedy Jr. through memorial softball tournaments the last two years, the Hurricane Boosters Club is purchasing the new scoreboard and working with town employees and committees to get it installed.

Keedy, who died in May 2010, was a coach of both softball and baseball teams.

"He really loved sports," said Roy Johnson, one of the boosters heading the effort. "This will be a great way to remember him."

Keedy's daughter, Ashley Keedy, said she approached Johnson seeking ideas for ways to use the tournament money. She liked the scoreboard suggestion, she said, because her father loved softball and she played four years on the high school's varsity team in the 1990s. She said some of her earliest memories are of being at softball games.

"I feel so much gratitude toward those who made it possible," Keedy said. "Softball was such an important part of his life."

The field sees regular use from March to August, not only for the high school team, which has won three of the last four western Massachusetts titles under coach Kacey Schmitt, but also for teams associated with the Leisure Services and Supplemental Education, which includes both 14-and-under and 12-and-under travel teams and a recreation program for girls in fifth and sixth grades.

Having a permanent scoreboard will be a more enjoyable experience for spectators, Schmitt said, as well as a demonstration of an ongoing commitment to softball.

"For me, a lot of it is showing the girls on the JV and varsity, and in youth leagues, that we value the sport and what they do," Schmitt said.

Johnson said the scoreboard, which measures 16 feet wide by 5 feet high, will cost about $5,000. While smaller than the scoreboard at the nearby Stan Ziomek Field, it will have a similar appearance, with a maroon background that matches the school's colors. "It should really help dress up the ball field," Johnson said.

Keedy said the first co-ed tournament was the brainchild of Donna Stanley, who asked Keedy if it would be appropriate to raise money in her father's name to benefit youth athletics.

The sum raised last year was modest, but this year's event, organized by Stanley; Ashley and her brother, Jeff; Ashley's husband, Brian Messier; and her friend, Lavonne Rathbun, was larger.

"We felt like this would be an appropriate way to honor my father," Keedy said.

A memorial plaque recognizing Keedy will be placed near the scoreboard, likely next spring, Keedy said.

Schmitt said she is humbled by this because of Vic Keedy's longtime support and noting that Ashley Keedy as "one of the best kids I ever coached."

"The scoreboard having his name on it will mean a lot," Schmitt said.

Mark Miville, the sports and recreation director of for LSSE, said the electronic scoreboard will replace a hand-operated flip scoreboard that is brought to the field for each game played there. It will bring the softball field up to par with similar facilities, he said. Other recent improvements, which the softball team has assisted in paying for, have included skinning the infield and replacing the infield dirt and putting fences up in front of both benches that makes it safer for the players.

The scoreboard will be placed down the first base line and close to the slope leading to the area where the War Memorial Pool and a wading pool are located.

Both the Design Review Board and the LSSE Commission approved the scoreboard this week and advised the building commission to allow its installation.

Senior Planner Christine Brestrup said it will be installed using concrete footings, which will be padded to protect players.

Miville said a wireless remote will allow the manager for the softball team to update the tallies each inning, as well as the ball and strike count and the number of outs. The numbers on the board will each be 18 inches high. Two of these wireless remote panels will be purchased, one for the LSSE and the other for school.

The scoreboard is expected to be solar-powered, similar to one at the high school track, Johnson said. Johnson said Ron Bohonowicz, the director of facilities for the schools and town, will handle that aspect of the project. The town and school will incur some costs for getting the scoreboard functioning, Johnson said, but they are expected to be modest.

The upgraded scoreboard has been long in coming, Johnson said, following the purchase of other scoreboards in recent years including ones for the swimming, lacrosse and Nordic skiing teams. In fact, the skiing team turned a $1,400 contribution from the boosters club into a $20,000 grant, Johnson said.

"The booster club tries to be a partner to stimulate sports for kids," Johnson said.

Keedy said she hopes the memorial tournament in her father's name will continue each year to benefit youth sports, not only for one-time purchases, but also to establish scholarships for children interested in participating.

"It's been such a wonderful outpouring of support for this tournament and a wonderful way to remember him," Keedy said.