RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rickey Henderson pitches a Wiffle Ball to a player on the lawn of UPMC on Friday in Williamsport. Local children, alongside players from the Australian Region Little League team joined in on the game and collected autographs from the MLB star.
The UPMC lawn was taken over by Australian players, children in purple uniforms and Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rickey Henderson Friday morning for a game of Wiffle Ball.
Australian team players served as buddies for Challenger Little League players from around the county and participants in the UPMC Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, cheering them on, showing them how to pitch the Wiffle Ball and helping them run the bases.
“This is a lot of fun,” Keith Land, Australian team manager, said. “This is where the kids grow and mature. If there was more of this in the world, it would be a better place.”
Land handed all of the participants a koala stuffed animal that many immediately placed on their jersey or hats.
“The kids have been looking forward to this,” he said. “I told them it’d be a lot of fun.”
They also received a purple jersey with their last name on it to wear during the pickup game from UPMC.
“This is the first time with kiddos of all abilities,” Lauren Rauch, with UPMC, said. Last year, they had children from the Y play.
The participants were made up of kids 12 and under so they would be the same age as Australian players. Each position on the field had both an Australian player and a community child covering it.
“We are here supporting our big guy, Gus,” Tasha Lehman, of Montoursville, said. “He was asked to play.”
Her son, Gus, has been playing baseball all summer. This was the first time they came out to the game.
“It’s great,” she said. “We are happy to be here.”
She said Gus’ favorite part of playing was hitting the ball, which he has been practicing. He snuck up three or four times to hit during the game where everyone received a chance to hit, run the bases and get outs.
“He loves to play baseball,” Lehman said.
For Patti Jackson-Gehris, president of UPMC Northcentral PA, the Wiffle Ball game is an event they look forward to all year long.
“This is one of our traditions,” Jackson-Gehris said. “We thought it would be really fun to have a pick-up game of Wiffle Ball on the lawn of UPMC.”
Each year, they invite children in the community, one of the teams in the series and the Major League Baseball player. This year, it was Henderson, who pitched to some of the players. He said it was a great event.
“I like to see the faces of the kids,” Henderson said.
He encouraged the kids to keep going hard, even when it gets tough.
“As long as you’re having fun, you’ll enjoy the game,” Henderson said.
Both the Little League World Series mascot Dugout, and the UPMC mascot Will M. Sport, joined the game, cheering for the players and taking pictures with them.
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LLWS, community players gather for a game of Wiffle Ball - Williamsport Sun-Gazette
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