DeVonta Smith’s second annual celebrity softball game was a success.
The gates opened on Saturday at noon, and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ Coca-Cola Park quickly filled up with fans.
It was not just Eagles jerseys, either. There was a great mix of fans from other teams and a lot of Alabama jerseys as well.
The game featured Team Smith vs. Team Dotson (Former Nazareth and Penn State WR and current Washington Commanders WR Jahan Dotson)
Dotson returned to the Lehigh Valley, where many fans enjoyed his dominant play on the gridiron. The former Blue Eagle wasn’t the only former Lehigh Valley star at the event.
Former Whitehall and Penn State running back and current Giants RB Saquon Barkley also played in the game, as well as former Parkland and Temple/Ole Miss and current New York Jets tight end Kenny Yeboah.
Many players signed autographs for the screaming fans as the other players took batting practice.
Before the game, there was a home run derby.
Home run derby:
Gillie: 1
Danny Garcia: 2
Dallas Goedert: 5
Jake Elliott: 5
Brandon Marshall: 5
Darius Slay: 1
Kenneth Gainwell: 2
James Bradberry: 3
Brandon Graham: 1
Mack Wilson: 5
Jaylen Waddle: 2
Cam Taylor-Britt: 2
Terrell Owens: 5
DeVonta Smith: 2
Goedert: 3
Elliot: 3
Marshall: 1
Owens: 2
Mack: 3
Elliot: 4
Wilson: 1
Goedert: 8
WINNER: Dallas Goedert
Before the home run derby, Goedert said his goal was to win it all, but he was nervous about Elliott winning it. Well, Goedert completed his goal. He dominated the final round and had the crowd going crazy as he hit 3 home runs with about 15 seconds left.
1st inning
Team Dotson: Dotson led off and popped out. Then Barkley stuck out and had the crowd laughing.
Team Smith: Slay hit a pop-up to Barkley, and he dropped it, getting even more laughs than before. Hurts singled to right, and then Goedert hit a sac fly to score Slay. Smith hit a grounder to 3rd for a single, and after the throw to first, Hurts snuck to 3rd. Team Dotson tried to throw him out at 3rd, but it was a bad throw, and Hurts hit the “Griddy” on his way home. The crowd was going nuts.
2nd inning
Team Dotson: Chad Ochocinco hit a double, but it was a rough start for Team Dotson.
Team Smith: Wilson hit a 2-run home run. Ochocinco had two errors in the inning, and Team Smith took a 7-0 lead after 2.
3rd inning
Team Dotson: 3 up and 3 down. They continued to struggle to hit the ball.
Team Smith: Smith hit a single, and then Owens hit a 2-run bomb. As he rounded 3rd and pumped the crowd up and the fans went crazy. Team Smith led 9-0.
4th inning
Team Dotson: Another inning, another struggle to hit the ball for Team Dotson.
Team Smith: The bats stayed hot for Team Smith, and they added 3 more runs in the inning. 12-0, Team Smith.
5th inning
Team Dotson: Finally, Team Dotson got the bats going. Waddle hit a home run. Then Dotson added an RBI single and later scored on a single. Later in the inning, and they added one more run to cut the lead to 12-4.
Team Smith: Team Smith had their worst inning of the day, and it looked like Team Dotson was making a comeback.
6th inning
Team Dotson: Before the inning started, Marshall brought out the boo birds for the first time of the day. Marshall got on the mic and told the crowd that Team Dotson was going to come back and win. The only issue was their bats went ice cold again.
Team Smith: Owens thought he hit a home run at the end of the inning and got tagged out on his way to second. The crowd was cracking up, but Team Smith was unable to generate any runs.
7th inning
Team Dotson: 3 up and 3 down. Again. Rough day for Team Dotson.
Team Smith: Gainwell hit a home run for Team Smith. And then Smith himself added a home run to give Team Smith a 14-4 lead.
8th and final inning
Team Dotson: Marshall hit a single and then stole two bases, which had the crowd laughing. A base hit brought Marshall home, but that’s all Team Dotson could get going. Dotson popped out, Ochocinco struck out, and then Waddle popped out to end the game.
Team Smith beat Team Dotson 14-5.
Owens won MVP of the game and had the crowd pumped up about it.
There were almost double the amount of fans compared to last year, and the crowd was into the game.
There were not many boo birds outside of Marshall antagonizing the crowd, as the non-Eagles team was captained by Dotson and had Barkley and Yeboah.
The star of the game was Barstool Sports’ Gillie. Gillie was a fan favorite, signing autographs, pumping up the crowd, and ensuring the fans had a great time.
Gillie started a Fly Eagles Fly chant, and it was the loudest the crowd got during the event.
Smith talked to media before the game and mentioned the importance of having the game in the Lehigh Valley and said he has it here “because training camp used to be here, so it’s a perfect fit for his event.”
The Morning Call’s Jeremy Klump can be reached at jklump@mcall.com. Follow him on Twitter @NUTTYxPROFESSOR
This content was originally published here.
