Oh My Quad defeats 99 Problems in Chipper

The fourth season of Malta Parks and Recreation Softball is in the books, and this year's championship was won by Oh My Quad!, the league's first champion in 2016.

Oh My Quad! defeated 99 Problems but a Pitch Ain't One on Tuesday, August 13, at Trafton Park, thanks in part to a Grand Slam from Team Captain Jake Stuart in the team's final at bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. Before the four RBI run Oh My Quad was down 4-5.

"When I was walking to the base, I was aware of the moment and that we needed a hit," Stuart said. "I started to get that, we needed a big hit feeling, and we were not the crowd favorites."

Stuart went on to say that there were a few people in the crowd heckling him. Oddly enough, the heckling put Stuart in a good place.

"I was in a clear state of mind, mainly because of all of the heckling," Stuart said. "I think it was the cleanest hit that I have had all year. There were some pretty good comments made out of the stands."

The grand slam was Stuart's fourth home run of the year. Wyatt Lien led Oh My Quad! in home runs with five.

Oh My Quad! won the championship in 2016, lost to the Dingers in the 2017 Championship, and lost in the 2018 semifinals to a Lucky Bullet team last season. 99 Problems was sponsored by the Lucky Bullet this season.

"We had to get a little vengeance from last year," Stuart said. "They had all of the pressure and it felt like we didn't have any on us. They had the crowd and the favorite card. And we knew we could just play and it was kind of nice."

Stuart praised his opponents' talented roster which included plenty of former college and state champion high school athletes and coaches from around the area.

Jessica Zeiger, Assistant Director of Malta Parks and Recreation shared what she thought of this year's softball league, a series that was her first in her new position with the City of Malta.

"I think the league brings a lot of awesome things to the community," Zeiger said. "Without all of our players we couldn't do what we do. Everything came together and it worked out and it was really good."

Zeiger mentioned that one of the softball fields was rained out on Monday due to a downpour of rain. Some games were moved to the little league field.

"That was interesting but we made it all work and everybody came together," Zeiger said.

A few of the leagues members came together to prep the little league field prior to the event.