Thursday night, April 2nd, young and old gathered on the weathered grass across the street from the most recognizable address in the world. They were joined together by something larger than themselves, a cause that forced complete strangers to join hands for some short fleeting moments in one unified sense of hope.
It was Age versus Beauty. Experience versus Innovation. Walkers versus Pacifiers. Over versus Under.
A small section of the Mall played host to the Over/Under 30 game, where 25 of PSU's finest met to settle the age gap once and for all, or at least until 2010. Forced to play an abbreviated game due to the NIT game that night, the Overs faced the Unders for a few short innings as a gerontology experiment on softball ability. Andy Kilmer and Mimi "Mimi Rocks" Franz were proud to make their first appearance on the Over squad. A handful of rookies debuted on the Under team, and Paul Obidinski made his first appearance as the rare Over rookie.
Scoring in the first few innings was sparse as all the players were shaking off a severe amount of rust, and in some cases speed as Pat "Irish Up" Dunne managed to get thrown out at second base to prevent a run from scoring. There were solid shots from both teams, as Meg "Playing Time" Krause clocked a solid single to center, and even Jeremy "Doc" Pearson got into the action with a laser that almost reached third base. Neither team could get any runs on the board, though.
That all changed in the top of the 3rd inning when Brandon "Tilted Hat" Shaffer strode to the plate. Brandon launched a 3-HR that showed even someone as slow as David Fites can score from first base if the ball is hit hard enough. The Unders went into the bottom of the 3rd just three outs from a 2-year winning streak, but the Overs would not be denied.
Using a highly scientific combination of pine tar, linament oil, and Werther's originals, the Overs came into the bottom of the third ready. After Mike "Orange Socks" Feder beat the throw at first-base to keep the rally going, the Overs managed to tie up the game. And even despite Dave "Fruit" Kranich's deep fear of leaving third base to run home, the rally proved enough as the third hit to the outfield while he was on third was enough for him to score the winning run.
Despite Coach Lyle's employment of the "We're going to keep playing until the Unders win" rule, the Unders went 1-2-3 in the top of the 4th and the scrimmage was called. A special congratulations to President Judy Engle and the squad of overs for pulling off the gigantic upset.
The team then rushed to the Bottom Line to watch a PSU men's basketball team shock the world and emerge as champions. No doubt, Ed DeChellis referenced the Overs' play in the game as inspiration that anything is possible. The softball squad took over a section of the bar and, after much deliberation, opted to toast their basketball brethren with several rounds of flipcup. Coach Lyle kept everyone's cups filled, and certain members of the Over squad valiantly tried to flirt with women in their early twenties. The general consensus was that it was a fitting way to kick off the 2009 softball season.
And a special thanks to Andy Kilmer for the writeup.
