Logan Wilson Celebrity Softball Game big hit with Bengals fans

Bengals fans arrived at Day Air Ballpark on Wednesday in their favorite orange and black, lined up well before the gates opened. There were a lot of No. 9 shirts, even though Joe Burrow wasn’t in the stadium. They came more to catch a glimpse of favorite players and get autographs than they did to see softball.

But the Logan Wilson Celebrity Softball Game was certainly fun for the fans. Smiles as broad as tiger stripes filled the stadium as most of the players proved they had little bat-and-ball experience. And the home run derby, the extra-inning game and the laughs showed the regular-guy side of the men fans see hidden under pads and helmets on game day.

Dax Hill, the Bengals second-year defensive back, knew exactly what to expect when he spoke to the media before the game.

“I feel like there will be a lot of embarrassing moments,” he said. “I may be out there doing embarrassing things — hopefully not —but I feel like it’s going be a lot of surprises out there. It should be a good game, fun game.”

It was a good game. Team Wilson and Team Ocho battled to a 13-all tie through seven innings with most of the runs scored on homers. The teams gathered at home plate, and the competitive nature wouldn’t let them end in a tie. So they played an eighth inning that finished tied 19-19. And that was it. The teams shared the trophy, and former Bengals running back Giovanni Bernard accepted the MVP trophy with a bow.

The fun started before the game.

Linebacker Joe Bachie won the home run derby, taking down defensive end Trey Hendrickson in the final round. Sam Hubbard, Cal Adomitis, Trent Taylor and Bernard, who was greeted with chants of “Gio,” were also formidable sluggers. For every player with a decent swing who could reach the temporary orange fence halfway between the infield and the baseball fence, there were plenty of big, muscular football players who could only pop up, hit foul balls and hang their heads.

And the embarrassing moments? Too numerous to mention, but there was lineman Cordell Volson awkwardly sliding safe into home. No one else dared slide in shorts. There was former Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson — who fans were excited to see — trying to play shortstop for Team Ocho and making more errors than he ever had drops in a season. There were swings and misses, dropped fly balls, wild throws and baserunning faux pas. The players, despite the competitive glimpses, were present to support Wilson and his cause.

The game raised money for The Brooks Anderson Foundation, which supports research to prevent sudden infant death syndrome. A friend of Wilson’s in his home state of Wyoming lost his son to SIDS and started the foundation. Wilson’s idea for the game found great support from his teammates.

‘It means a lot,” he said before the game. “Obviously the game couldn’t happen without them. So hopefully we put on a show out there for the fans. But I really appreciate the guys that are coming out today because it’s an opportunity to support a great cause.”

The Bengals are known for having a good locker room and team culture during the past two seasons of playing in a Super Bowl and coming close again last year. And the support Wilson got from his teammates for the event showed how he has emerged as a team leader.

“It’s an example of a good team culture, but it’s also an example of the weight that Logan carries in our locker room,” backup quarterback Jake Browning said. “He’s obviously a great player, but I’ve played with a lot of great players that I probably wouldn’t drive all the way to Dayton for to play in a softball game. Logan has a lot of respect in locker room. It’s obviously a good cause, too, but I think it says a lot that people want to drive all the way up here.”

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