BEVERLY — Before the District 15 Williamsport Little League Tournament's final game was played at Harry Ball Field in Beverly on Saturday night, a special awards ceremony was held.

With players from both Peabody West and Beverly East lining the sidelines the 20 recipients of the second annual J.J. Nicastro Sportsmanship awards were presented.

Nicastro, who died suddenly in 2007 after being stricken with an infection around his heart, played for the Pirates and was a member of the Gloucester National All-Star team. His family was on hand for the awards that were presented by District 15 commissioner Stan Brown, and Jack Dean, a veteran Beverly East coach and member of the district board. It was Dean who came up with the idea to give an award in J.J.'s memory.

"This is a special award, and it's not all about winning and losing or hitting home runs. It's about being a good teammate and a good sport," said Dean.

The Nicastro family set up a foundation in memory of their son, and his Dad said he was thrilled to find out this award would be presented annually. He had thought it was going to be a one-time event when the awards were first given in 2008. Each recipient was given a nice plaque to commemorate the honor.

Connor Harris and Devon Murray were the recipients for the Gloucester Nationals and Gloucester Americans respectively.

This year's winners included: Julia Morin (Challenger); Austin Batchelor (Peabody West); Joey Labadini (Merrimac); Casey O'Brien (Byfield/Newbury); John Ricci (Beverly East); Dylan Paris (Beverly West); Ben Perry (Groveland); Freddie Cerundolo (Ipswich); Shawn Lebrun (Salem American); Connor Sakowich (Salem National); Ben Cullen (Amesbury); Tighe Robinson (Hamilton-Wenham); Ben Manoogian (Peabody American); Tyler Conrad (Peabody National); Brendan Deorocki (Boxford); Ryan Spaulding (Topsfield); Andrew Moles (Danvers American); Sean Lundergan (Danvers National); Devon Murray (Gloucester American); Conor Harris (Gloucester National).