THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 3, 1996 TAG: 9609030054
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 86 lines
By 4 p.m. Monday, the score was 516-512.
In softball.
No, the players aren't superhuman athletes or stringers brought in from the majors.
They're members of an Old Dominion University fraternity who have sacrificed their Labor Day weekend to sponsor a softball marathon. They hope the event will benefit the medical work of Operation Smile - and maybe even set some kind of record.
``It been going really well,'' said Douglas Grimsley, president of the fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon.
They started playing Thursday at 4 p.m. and expect to end the game today at 6 p.m.
Money has been raised by calling on sponsors, including Zero's Pizza and radio station 96X-FM. Fraternity members also have solicited university-area residents for pledges per inning or for flat donations. Admission to the game is free, but donations are being accepted at the stadium.
As of Monday evening, Grimsley did not know how much money had been pledged and taken in.
The same 22 fraternity members have rested only between innings and during breaks built up from five-minute intervals accrued each hour. They played for 42 hours straight, rested four, played 24 more and rested two, Grimsley said.
``Now we're playing straight on until we finish,'' he said Monday evening.
An ODU sorority, Pi Beta Phi, has helped with food, water and encouragement.
``The thing we wanted to do was to show that fraternities can do events to help the community,'' said Grimsley, 24. ``And, of course, it's a great cause.''
Operation Smile is the medical service organization founded in 1982 that treats mainly children with facial deformities such as cleft palates, facial and orthopedic deformities and burns. The organization, which has performed 40,000 operations in 15 years, is based in Norfolk, but its reach is global.
Grimsley volunteered to hold the marathon for Operation Smile's benefit, said Lisa Jardanhazy, a spokeswoman for the organization
``We just think it's fabulous,'' Jardanhazy said Monday. ``A lot of times fraternities get a bad rap, . . . and here's a bunch of kids who've given up five days of their weekend. They're doing something that's going to . . . put smiles on the faces of kids all over the world.''
Grimsley, looking tanned and tired Monday afternoon, put together the softball marathon after recalling a similar fund-raiser the fraternity held several years ago.
Saturday, he said, was a low point because of the heat and rough game play the night before. They've also battled the threat of Hurricane Edouard and fatigue.
``I don't even know what tired means anymore,'' fraternity member Matt Kelly, 22, said Monday afternoon after plopping down on the bench for a breather. ``I think I've taken more mid-inning sleeps than anyone.
``But it's been great. At times it's been a little competitive.''
It shows. The limps, scabs and bandages made it painfully obvious the students have been playing for real. The baseball field has been cluttered with blankets, clothes, a pup tent and other equipment and lounging bodies.
They split into two teams: the Anacondas and the Cheetahs. The Anacondas were ahead late Monday.
Operation Smile chairman Dr. Bill Magee said he has been out there every day. He applauded the students' energy and enthusiasm.
``Here's this group of young men who said, `We're going to draw attention to helping children,' '' said Magee, who co-founded Operation Smile with his wife, Kathy.
This year, he said, Operation Smile plans to send 900 volunteers to 16 countries as well as to inner cities in the United States. The marathon, he said, will help.
``Our need is to get people to get on board and participate,'' he said. ``College students are an integral part of that.''
Four days of playing - without leaving the stadium, without beds, without showers - has been grueling, some participants said. But many, like Ryan McHale, said it's worth it.
``It's because we're so close,'' McHale said.
No one knew whether the Cheetahs or the Anacondas would prevail, but Matt Kelly put his money on Operation Smile.
``They're the ones winning out of all of this.'' MEMO: The marathon is being played at the baseball field off West 43rd
Street behind the soccer stadium on the Old Dominion University campus.
For more information on how to help, call Operation Smile at 625-0375. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
GARY C. KNAPP
Tom Casey takes a breather while his ODU fraternity brothers
continue their marathon softball fund-raiser for Operation Smile. by CNB