Reporters Notebook (Gburg Times: 090807): "Major Upset at Holiday Wiffleball Bash"

Hear about the weekend’s big upset?

No, not Appalachian State’s shocking defeat of Michigan.

I’m talking about the Aunts & Uncles squad’s stunning conquer of the Nieces & Nephews team during Monday afternoon’s Holiday Wiffleball Bash at Mentzer Stadium.

“Unbelievable,” Uncle Stan said during the post-game handshake, immediately following his team’s thrilling 11-10 come from behind win.

The game featured what wiffleball pundits would call “a little bit of everything” — controversy, close calls, a grand slam, baserunning blunders, defensive lapses, and frames where at least a half-dozen runs were scored. (And believe it or not, all of that happened in the top of the first!)

Desperate for their first win in three years, the Aunts & Uncles turned to veteran right-hander Uncle Jeff, while the Nieces & Nephews put their trust in the dependable arm of Jamie Lynn Pitzer, making her first start at Mentzer Stadium since last Labor Day.

Pitzer was a tad rusty, as Uncle Jeff took the first pitch thrown from her hand deep over the vehicle-lined left field fence for a homerun. Several batters later, my Dad crushed a grand slam, giving the Aunts & Uncles a seemingly insurmountable 6-0 lead.

But the Nieces & Nephews rallied.

Missing the services of longtime firstbaseman Meagan Sterner due to sickness, and utility infielder Shelley Sterner (who had just gotten her nails done), the Nieces & Nephews were led by the young likes of fifth-grader Kaila May, nine-year-old Stephen Mentzer, sixth-grader Marty May, and middle-schooler Ryan Mentzer. Kaila May’s double to deep centerfield in the middle innings knotted the score at six, bringing the capacity crowd of Grandma and several aunts to their feet.

With the Nieces & Nephews clinging to a 10-8 lead in the bottom of the last inning, the Aunts & Uncles — aided by a controversial play at the plate — scored three runs for a walkoff victory, capped by Uncle Stan’s single up the middle scoring Uncle Dan.

“That was my only hit in five at-bats,” Uncle Stan told the Gettysburg Times. “We just wanted it more.”

Uncle Jeff added: “We were the only ones in the whole stadium who actually thought we could win this game. We believed.”

Believe it: Aunts & Uncles win 11-10.

(Tickets are already on-sale for next year.)

~ Scot Andrew Pitzer