When it comes to community support, Ashley Aven has a pretty deep bench.

Ashley is the 18-year-old Meadowdale softball player who was diagnosed last year with an aggressive form of leukemia.

Yesterday friends and complete strangers — including softball players from around the league — played in a whiffle ball tournament to raise money for the Aven family. (KING 5 covered it – check out the video below.) Even former Mariner Jay Buhner, who has a daughter that also plays high school softball, was part of the fundraiser.

“If it was not for the softball community’s support I don’t think our family could have kept our heads up this long, but we would have tried like hell,” Ashley’s dad Bill told me in an e-mail.

Tonight, the Meadowdale Sports Booster Club will present Ashley with the first ever “Ashley Aven Senior of the Year” award. It’s an award that will be given each year in Ashley’s honor.

“As the principal I am extremely proud and honored to be able to have Ashley’s name as part of an award that will be passed down for generations,” Meadowdale Principal Dale Cate wrote in an e-mail.

Donations to the Ashley K. Aven Foundation may be made at any Wells Fargo branch.