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BLOG: "Wiffleball tourny pits Aunts, Uncles vs. Nieces, Nephews"

SUB-TITLE: Aunts & Uncles win Memorial Day bash; second consecutive win in heated rivalry

Published: Friday, June 4, 2010 4:17 PM EDT.

The Aunts & Uncles Team heard the whispers.They were too old, some wiffleball fans said.

They didn’t have the stamina to compete with the youthful, energetic Nieces & Nephews squad, others argued. They were undermanned, and could no longer hit the long-ball, opponents suggested.

Frankly, they just didn’t belong on the same field.

The Aunts & Uncles team put those whispers to rest, with a commanding 7-5 win over the Nieces & Nephews, in a stunning victory Monday afternoon at Mentzer Field near Hellam.With the win, the aging A&U’s extend their winning streak in the heated rivalry to two games, dating back to Labor Day 2009.

“We’ve heard the critics — we were determined to prove them wrong,” A&U left fielder Gregg Pitzer said following the humidity-shortened five inning victory.

The two teams took the field Monday afternoon in the annual Memorial Day Wiffleball Bash, following a 20-minute thunderstorm delay.

Newcomers were predominant on both teams, as the A&U’s were missing Uncle Jeff and Aunt Sharon, who remained in Ohio with their children. Mentzer family friend Wes Staub, and cousins Lance and Travis Schriver filled in capably for the adult team, while the N&N’s scrambled to replace Ryan, Nathan, Stephen, Morgan and Allison Mentzer.

The N&N’s recruited Kayla White, as well as Forrest and Sammy Staub to fill in for the Mentzer siblings.

Veteran umpire Pappy Mentzer also missed the game, as he performed a “good deed” earlier in the afternoon.

Nieces & Nephews ace hurler Jamie Pitzer, making her sixth consecutive start in the series, mowed down the Aunts & Uncles in the first inning — and then the bats got rolling.

Danny May paced the N&N’s with three hits, including a double in his first at-bat. He scored when brother Gabe May, batting fifth in the new-look batting order, laced a bullet down the left field line, also scoring outfielder Forrest Staub.

The quick two runs prompted A&U manager-player Uncle Stan Mentzer to visit pitcher Uncle Dan May at the mound. Uncle Dan was filling in for regular starter Uncle Jeff Mentzer, who did not make the trip from Columbus, Ohio.

“I was having some mechanical issues,” said Uncle Dan.

The mechanical issues continued as first base-woman Kaila May, filling in for veteran Meagan Sterner who was out with illness, followed with an infield single, and scored when White legged out a chopper.

The Nieces & Nephews scored another run in the bottom of the second inning to take a 4-0 lead, which looked insurmountable with Jamie Pitzer’s mix of fastballs and offspeed pitches.

But the Aunts & Uncles rallied for three runs in the subsequent inning, thanks to key hits from Uncle Dan, Gregg Pitzer, Staub and the Schrivers. Staub notched two hits in the afternoon, and pulled the A&U’s to within one run when he belted a Jamie Pitzer fastball over the head of third baseman Marty May, scoring Lance Schriver from second base.

“The adrenaline, it gets to you,” said Staub. “No one wants to lose.”

A&U third-base-woman Judy Pitzer, hitless in three at bats, was robbed by daughter Jamie Pitzer in the third, on a chop between the mound and first base. Jamie Pitzer, a fifth-year senior at Kutztown, lunged at the ball and then sprinted to first for the out, beating Judy Pitzer — a third grade teacher at Arendtsville Elementary School — by a step.

“Sorry Mom,” Jamie laughed as she returned to the mound. “Love you!”

Staub again reached base in the top of the fourth, with an opposite field single. His single was key, as a defensive blunder by the N&N’s one pitch earlier allowed his at-bat to continue. Staub popped a foul ball, and catcher Kayla White failed to track the short fly down the right field line, in what would have been an easy play.

“I wasn’t paying attention,” White acknowledged in a post-game interview.

The Nieces & Nephews bats were held silent again in the third inning, and the wheels fell off the cart in the top of the fourth. Uncle Stan stepped to the plate with a runner on first, prompting Jamie Pitzer to gasp: “Oh no. He intimidates me.”

Uncle Stan launched the next pitch beyond the wall of vehicles in the left field, giving the old-timers the lead at 5-4.

Fans peppered throughout the sellout crowd, including Grandma Mentzer, Aunt Vicki and Aunt Clara, booed the veteran slugger as he rounded the bases.

“I was looking for a changeup and I got one,” said Uncle Stan, homerless since 2006.

Uncle Stan nearly connected again in the top of the fifth inning, but he was robbed by Dr. Michael E. Pitzer, who made a leaping stab of the would-be homer over the outfield fence, knocking the ball back into play. Pitzer recently earned his doctorate from the Penn State Hershey School of Medicine and starts his residency at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore later this month.

“I’ve never seen a play like that,” said Aunt Vicki, who gave Dr. Pitzer a standing ovation with other fans in the center-field bleachers.

The defensive gem sparked the Nieces & Nephews, in the bottom half of the final inning.

Danny May reached first base on an infield single, and scored from first on Davey Sterner’s triple to deep center. But Sterner rounded third, attempting an inside-the-park homer, and Judy Pitzer’s cut-off throw nailed Sterner at the plate, where he was tug out by Uncle Dave.

“Davey’s been taking chances on the basepaths since he was 4-years-old,” deadpanned Uncle Stan.

Trailing by two runs with two outs, Gabe May kept the hopes of the deflated N&N’s team alive with a single, but a comeback hopper off the bat of Sammy Staub ended the threat, as pitcher Uncle Dan recorded an unassisted double play.

“Unbelievable,” said Grandma Mentzer. “The game gets better every year, and the intensity continues to mount.”

Both teams shook hands afterwards, in a show of sportsmanship.

The N&N’s will get a chance to break the elder team’s two game winning streak on Labor Day, when the game moves to Sterner Field in Wrightsville.

“We’ll be back,” said N&N manager-player Scot Pitzer. “We just couldn’t get the key hits when we needed them.”

Aunts & Uncles 7, Nieces & Nephews 5.

Nieces & Nephews
Danny May, 2b, 3-3
Marty May, 3b, 1-3
Forrest Staub, of, 2-3
Davey Sterner, cf, 1-3
Gabe May, of, 2-3
Kaila May, 1b, 1-3
Sammy Staub, of, 1-3
Kayla White, c, 1-2
Jamie Pitzer, p, 2-2
Dr. Michael E. Pitzer, of, 1-2
Scot Pitzer, ss, 1-2

Aunts & Uncles
Uncle Dan, p, 3-4
Gregg Pitzer, lf, 2-4
Lance Schriver, 1b, 2-4
Travis Schriver, of, 1-4
Uncle Dave, ss, 0-3
Judy Pitzer, 3b, 0-3
Wes Staub, cf, 2-3
Uncle Stan, 2b, 2-3

Submitted by: Scot A. Pitzer, Times Staff Reporter.
Reader comments are encouraged. Contact Scot Pitzer directly at 334.1131, ext. 247, spitzer@gburgtimes.com, or submit a comment on this blog.