On the evening of Saturday, February 3 the Wittenberg University Tigers Baseball program hosted their first annual "Meet the Team Night" fundraiser in anticipation of the start to the 2018 season. The event was held at the Windy Knoll Golf Course banquet hall in Springfield, OH. The hall proved to be the perfect setting for the night's celebration, food, fun, and prizes.
The evening began with an energetic welcome from Coach McGee thanking all the supporters in attendance, including his coaching staff, and players for their commitment and loyalty to the program and season ahead. The night made for some incredible memories along the way, "Things couldn't have gone better. It was a program-changing night for anyone who has ever been a part of Witt baseball. In front of my very eyes, I was witnessing change. The culture being created here is one you can win with. People are "buying in". True support is showing up. This team is starting to understand what it takes to do off the field, to win on it."
The evening included moments such as player introductions, team announcements, an outlook on the season ahead. Along with a message from freshman catcher Jack Hollinshead about his foundation, My Inner Warrior, which raises funds to provide resources to equip inner-city youth baseball leagues.
A delicious spaghetti and meatball dinner was provided to all in attendance and was catered hot by the Windy Knoll staff in a buffet-style setting. Desserts were all provided by the families in attendance, which was the talk of the evening by the guys.
The highlights of the night began with the three seniors, Paul Stanley, Andrew Goodpaster, and captain Tim Bates having the floor to address the crowd each individually. All three gave exceptional, heartfelt speeches about what Wittenberg has meant to them during their careers on campus and their excitement for the upcoming season.
"These guys did an exceptional job and shared some things I know they must have had to put some thought into. I am proud of how professional they carried themselves up there, and the standard which future seniors will have to follow," said coach McGee.
Following the seniors, it was time to get to the main events, this being the First Wittenberg Banana Dog Eating Contest. The banana dog being the unofficial team meal of Tigers Baseball, is a daunting combination of banana, peanut butter, and hot dog bun. The first ever showing featured six contestants: Bates, Brandon Beegle, Mason Davis, Russell Hayhurst, Patrick Kenny, and Paul Stanley were challenged to who could eat 4 banana dogs the fastest. Kenny took an early lead as he was the first to finish 2, however, as the saying goes, it's not how you start but how you finish. Hayhurst, who was nipping at the heels of Kenny for the first half, stormed past on dog number three and never looked back to claim the victory. The freshman pitcher is already the favorite in next year's competition.
The grand finale of the night was the drawing of the different raffles. There was a 50/50 drawing, Basket Auction, and some great door prizes. Some of the auction baskets included an Amazon Echo w/Amazon gift cards, 4 tickets to an Indians vs. Reds game, and a lottery basket to name a few of the many wonderful baskets to win.
In closing coach McGee expressed, "The goal of our Meet the Team Night is not solely to raise money for the program, in fact, it isn't even the primary goal. The goal is to celebrate our team, our program, and each other. What makes this team is the people, not the trophies. I have always said if I am going to win I want to be around people I want to celebrate with, and if we lose it is easier to swallow if you go through it with those you love. This event brings us closer together, and it feeds our culture of family."
MEET THE TEAM NIGHT IS AN ANNUAL EVENT HELD ON THE SATURDAY BEFORE THE SUPER BOWL EACH YEAR IN SPRINGFIELD NEAR WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY. ALL PROFITS DIRECTLY SUPPORT THE NEEDS OF THE WITTENBERG BASEBALL PROGRAM.
