Friday is the final day for teams to register for the 18th annual Pepsi Softball Marathon to benefit Easter Seals of Blair and Bedford County. There are two divisions, mens and co-ed that will play ball over three days on nine different fields in Blair County.
\nWTAJ-TV 10 and WPRR-FM have been part of the marathon since its inception and will play their annual grudge match Friday night at Fairview Park in Altoona.
\n\u201cOver the years, Easter Seals has become a big part of my life,\u201d said WPRR Program Director Tommy Edwards. \u201cI would do almost anything for the Easter Seals.\u201d
\nThe money raised from the weekend long marathon helps children with disabilities in Blair and Bedford Counties.
\nNot everyone gets to see the work that Easter Seals does for children, but seeing the work makes Edwards more determined to help out.
\n\u201cSeeing the kids makes me want to do more than I could possibly do to help out,\u201d said Edwards. \u201cWe\u2019re very happy to be part of such a great event.\u201d
\nWPRR would like to score a victory against TV-10 next Friday night.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a while since we won,\u201d said Edwards. \u201cI\u2019m going to be like Joe Namath and predict that we will beat TV-10 this year.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is my favorite charity event,\u201d said WTAJ Sports Director Kellie Goodman. \u201cThe softball marathon benefits a great cause. When you see the faces of the kids who benefit from what we do, it doesn\u2019t get any better than that.\u201d
\nWhen asked if there is a prediction, Goodman said, \u201cWe hope to have 10 players to start the game. I don\u2019t make predictions. I love being a part of the Softball Marathon and we\u2019ll have some fun.\u201d Goodman was a former PSU softball player
\nThe Softball Marathon is a huge fund raiser for Easter Seals.
\n\u201cLast year, we grossed $48,534,\u201d said Donna Wassell, the Events Projects Specialist for Easter Seals of Blair County. \u201cThis year we have 106 teams entered which is the most we have had in our 18 years. We still could use four teams and you have until Friday to register.\u201d
\nTo register for the Easter Seals Softball Marathon, you need to raise $300 for your team of 12-20 players.
\nMatt Hoover has been a part of the Easter Seals Softball Marathon for 17 of the 18 years.
\n\u201cA friend of mine wanted to put a team in the first tournament so we did,\u201d said Hoover. \u201cWe missed the second year, but we have been back everytime. This year we have a mens team and a co-ed team and we even stooped low enough to let Harlow play.\u201d
\nLetting me play is one thing, but Hoover will probably always be a part of the Softball Marathon.
\n\u201cHelping the Easter Seals is a feeling you can\u2019t describe,\u201d said Hoover. \u201cI\u2019ve walked through the Easter Seals a few times, and all you have to do is go through once and see the difference that these people make, and you will always be back to help when they need it.\u201d
\nThe highest fundraisers last year were, First Place: Giant Eagle Roaring Spring – $3,035, 2nd Place – Bedford Reinforced Plastics – $2,261, 3rd Place – Hoss’s Steak & Sea House – $2,067.
\nGames will take place at Columbia, Garfield, Eldorado, Leopold, Oak Ridge\/10th St, Prospect, Juniata and Fairview in Altoona and at Ferner Field in Tyrone.
\n\u201cThe proceeds from the Softball Marathon stay here,\u201d said Wassell. \u201cThe money helps pay for physical, speech and occupational therapy, helps a family if a child needs a wheel chair, helps buy hearing aids. Playing ball can make such a difference in the life of one child.\u201d
\nThe Easter Seals still needs volunteers to help with the Pepsi Softball Marathon. To volunteer, call the Easter Seals at 944-5014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Friday is the final day for teams to register for the 18th annual Pepsi Softball Marathon to benefit Easter Seals of Blair and Bedford County. There are two divisions, mens and co-ed that will play ball over three days on nine different fields in Blair County. WTAJ-TV 10 and WPRR-FM have been part of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48392\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}