Beavercreek fifth-grader wins MLB Pitch, Hit & Run competition

Wade is a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Fairbrook Elementary School in Beavercreek.

“Piper’s journey started a few years ago when she was fortunate to be a national finalist in Houston as an 8-year-old,” Sean Wade, Piper’s dad, wrote in an email to the Dayton Daily News. “That experience has led her to train harder and play a lot more softball. She has developed a love for the game that is second to none. If she could be on a field or in a batting cage every day, she would be somewhere.”

Wade wasn’t the only local participant in the national finals. Madison Smith, of Springboro, competed in Los Angeles in the 11- and 12-year-old division. Smith, like Wade, was a finalist for the second time.

Wade qualified by first winning a local competition at Poultry Days in Versailles. She then posted the highest score in her division at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Her dad said she broke her finger three weeks before the Guardians event, but “luckily enough the finger was healed enough to participate and she simply gritted it out and taped the one finger to another and carried on.”

Wade and her dad were in the stands for Game 2 of the World Series on Oct. 26. The competition was held the next day.

“It is still surreal knowing that she and I sat in seats at Dodger Stadium and watched two iconic teams play it out in a game that came down to the ninth inning to determine the winner,” Sean wrote. “Being in that stadium for Game 2 was nothing short of electric, and knowing it was your 10-year-old daughter who brought you there due to her talent, hard work and effort is unforgettable.”