The Phillies Ball Girls play Sussex Stars at Sports at the Beach

Sports at the Beach is a happening place on the weekends. The parking lot is filled with cars, and there are playgrounds and playing fields, lots of burger-and-fries-variety health foods for sale and fans from all over the globe settling into lawn chairs or resting in bleachers.

I was there June 22 to announce and emcee a fundraising softball game between a team representing the Southern Delaware Therapeutic Riding group and the Philadelphia Phillies Ball Girls.

There were no numbered rosters, but at least the sound system didn’t function until a wireless microphone showed up in the second inning with the scoreboard flashing only zeros because It’s way uncool to keep score in a fundraiser especially since the Phillies' first 14 batters (when ball girls play away, everyone bats) reached base with solid hits to the outfield.

Most importantly, the kids in the SDTR program got to bat and run the bases. And just when I was starting to roll on the microphone, I was asked to share it with Sasha Hudson, who went A game compared to my D-plus.

Mackenzie Kramer of the Phillies BGs told me, “We had such a great day; everyone had such a good time.”

A teammate added, ”This was so great. The people are so nice and the kids seemed to really enjoy it." Then she joked, “The last home game I missed an easy ground ball and got booed.”

SDTR posts on its website, “Our mission is to provide equine-assisted therapy promoting the physical, emotional and educational growth of children and adults with special needs in our community.”

Georgia Truitt is the president of SDTR and has been providing lessons for the last 20 years. She also a recruiter for Christiana Care.

A down-home-style great time was had by all who participated, and the Phillies Ball Girls couldn’t have been nicer, and oh yeah, those girls can play some softball.