"Guns" Defeat "Hoses" at Charity Softball

It was another big win for the "Guns" team comprised of Sidney, Cheyenne County, and State police officers that went up against the "Hoses" team of Sidney Firefighters on Sunday at Legion Park. The event included food like pulled pork sandwiches and a raffle for prizes, including Denver Broncos tickets, to raise money for the Night of Hope Walk for Cancer. The sun finally broke through the cloud cover that had settled in the area for most of the day, and by game time it was all sunshine and comfortable temperatures for the players and the spectators.

The game started on a solemn note, as a moment of silence was observed to honor Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Jerry Smith, who was killed in a car accident while on duty near Bridgeport Thursday morning. After the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those in attendance, the officers of the Guns team took the field while the firefighters of the Hoses team readied to take their first at bats. But the game was delayed prior to the first pitch as members of the Hoses team came out onto the field and brought doughnuts to a few of the police officers playing defense, to the applause and laughter of the crowd. Prior to taking their first at bats, members of the Guns team responded to the gesture with a gift of their own-when the firefighters took the field, members of the Guns team brought marshmallows to the Hoses defenders, again to the applause and laughter of the crowd.

The Hoses got off to any early lead, racking up four runs in the first inning while the Guns had a bit of trouble fielding the ball and throwing the ball to the right base. The Guns responded in bottom of the first with two runs of their own, ending the first inning trailing 4-to-2. The game stayed close until the third inning when the teams had to run the bases in reverse order, and the Guns were able to pull away with a big lead. The Guns' Aaron Rucker blasted the first of his three home runs over the centerfield fence, and the rout was on.

The game continued with the Guns scoring in bunches while the Hoses struggled to score in the middle innings. Rucker blasted another homer over the fence for his second on the day, putting the Guns well ahead of the Hoses. But the Hoses had one last trick left in their attempt to make a comeback. Members of the Hoses team made an additional charitable donation and "rented" a player from the Guns team for their at bats in their half of the inning. And sure enough, the announcer let the crowd know that "Giant-Armed Home Run Hitter" Aaron Rucker was making his way to the plate for the Hoses team. Rucker hit a towering fly ball that went backwards and over the backstop, while the announcer commented, "At least he hit it over a fence" to the laughter of the crowd. But on the very next pitch the burly bopper connected again, but this time the ball went way out and over the outfield fence for Rucker's third home run of the day. It was money well spent for the Hoses team, but unfortunately the dinger came with the bases empty so it only counted for one run, and wasn't nearly enough to overcome the Guns' lead.

There was some confusion about the actual score at the end of the game, so final score was announced as "Too Many to Not Enough" in favor of the Guns. Later, the official score was tabulated and it was a 23-to-10 victory for the Guns, their second win in as many Guns Vs. Hoses events.

For more information on The Night of Hope Walk For Cancer contact http://www.nightofhope.com.