Nefarious activity, poor sportsmanship & questionable behavior was on full display at Union Bank Park on Friday afternoon. MHS Seniors were suckered into what was supposed to be a fair game of softball against MHS coaches & staff.
The seniors led after the first inning & that is when the questionable behavior began. A sudden explosion of offense called into question the legality of the bats being used by MHS staff. A situation made worse by flagrant bat flipping, finger pointing & plodding home run trots.
In addition there was the whole issue of the eligibility of one of the staff players & whether or not he was or was not actually employed by Mena Public Schools. In effect a ringer for the staff team.
Between innings the staff team was seen slipping cash to the umpire who then denied the accusation of bribery. But it was obvious to those in attendance, after a staff batter stepped in front of a pitch, that the calls were going against the seniors. This all came to a head when the senior team’s manager was ejected from the game after questioning a call.
This seemingly fired up the senior team who came back to tie the game in regulation & went on to win by a score of 7-6 in extra innings.
Overall it was an awful display of athletic ability & thankfully we won’t be forced to witness it again till next year.