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Softball: A once-in-a-lifetime view
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FarkRAPID CITY — Brothers Jack and Noah Storm had never seen a women’s fastpitch softball game live. So they were stunned to see how close the pitcher was to the batter.
“There’s no way I could hit it,” said 11-year-old Noah, who plays baseball with his 13-year-old brother. “It’s so fast.”
Jack called the game a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“You don’t get to see this much,” he said. “And they’re going to be in Beijing.”
For 13-year-old Kelsey Hendrickson, it was a chance to watch her idols.
“I want to be as good as Jennie Finch,” said Hendrickson, a pitcher and shortstop for her team, the Canyon Lake All Stars.
Her teammate, Krysta Novak, was paying special attention.
“My goal is to make it to the Olympics,” Novak said. She and her Canyon Lake teammates spent most of the pregame taking pictures of Team USA.
But Team USA was not just for the young.
For Don Van Winkle’s 77th birthday, he received a ticket to the game.
“I’ve watched these gals for a long time,” he said. His daughter, who gave him the ticket, told him it was about time to see them in person.
Before the game, Van Winkle hoped the game would be closer than the 31-0 blowout Team USA delivered to their last opponents, Spokane (Wash.).
Fortunately, for fans of the South Dakota squad, the game wasn’t nearly that lopsided.
Shelly Maliske was impressed with the pitching from the Black Hills Gold team and believed Team USA was probably surprised and caught off guard, especially after being struck out.
Wade Wilson was cheering for the Black Hills Gold team because “they’re the underdogs. But the pitcher hasn’t shown that.” As a part of the Cosmopolitan Club, he and his family signed up right away to be a volunteer usher for the game.
With nearly 3,800 people packed into Pete Lien Memorial Field, seats were difficult to find, and Wilson was surprised at the number of fans from out of town.
Ladell Earney, of Whitney, Neb., drove up with her daughter’s softball team.
“Coming from the panhandle of Nebraska, it’s probably the chance of a lifetime for a lot of these girls,” Earney said.
The crowd filled the stands at Pete Lien Memorial Field on Tuesday to watch the Black Hills Gold take on the U.S. Olympic softball team. (Ryan Soderlin/Journal staff)
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