Professional Fowl Play
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on September 9, 2016 10:04 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Sharks player Justin Minshew, right, looks to the umpire for the call as he tags Quacks player Jason Richter out at second base during the annual Fowl Play softball game between local doctors and lawyers. This year the lawyers took home the trophy.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Ben Eskra, center, gets a pat on the back after sliding in safely to second base during the annual Fowl Play softball game between doctors and lawyers.
About two dozen doctors and lawyers took to the field at the Boys & Girls Club of Wayne County Thursday in a rival softball game to benefit charity.
The teams -- the Quacks and Sharks -- battled for the winning trophy in what has become a five-year tradition to benefit charity.
During the past three years, the Fowl Play game has been a part of Goldsboro's week-long, poultry-themed festival -- Beak Week.
"Beak Week, this is its third year, and we wanted to be a part of Beak Week," said Mary Ann Dudley, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.
The annual fundraiser benefiting the Boys & Girls Club is expected to bring in $4,200 in donations this year, Dudley said. Team players volunteer their time and the donations are collected through sponsorships provided primarily from the legal and medical community, said Jo Heidenreich, Boys & Girls Club development director.
"They support the club in many ways throughout the year, and this is becoming a great event bringing the two groups together," Dudley said. "They're helping us provide for our children."
The donations help underwrite Boys & Girls Club operations and programs offered to children ages 6 to 18, she said.
Jay Falk, an attorney with Strickland, Agner and Associates, said the competition is fun and offers the teams a chance to make a difference in Wayne County. It also offered Falk a chance to pick up a bat, something he enjoyed doing in his younger years.
"I grew up playing baseball," he said. "I've always been competitive. It's fun to come out, especially to play with people we work with on a daily basis.
"I, personally, really admire the Boys & Girls Club, so anything I can do to benefit their organization is something I'd give my time to."
The teams of doctors, the Quacks, and the lawyers, the Sharks, have each won two games during the past four years, with the Sharks taking home the trophy Thursday night.
The teams played six innings within an hour, with the Sharks beating the Quacks, 11-6.
Beak Week events continue tonight at 6 in downtown Goldsboro, along Center Street, with entertainment by the Taz Band, a cornhole tournament and a wing tasting with the People's Choice award competition.
The Saturday street festival, on South Center Street, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. includes a Kansas City Barbeque Society cookoff, with 45 teams competing for cash prizes, four bands, nearly 30 craft and food vendors, a kid's corner and wing-eating contest. Beak Week is becoming one of the city's largest festivals, with an expected turnout of 10,000 people this year.