Faithfully on the field

Eldon Morrical shuffled to his left, snagged a hard hit ground ball and tossed it to Randy Heston at first base for the out.
It’s a scene that first played out in the late 1960s. And it did so again Friday night.
The right side of the West Walnut Church of Christ/Union Chapel infield sported a combined 90 years of experience when it took the field against Redkey Nazarene in the Jay County Church League softball tournament. Morrical and Heston, who both attend West Walnut, have each played on the team for 45 consecutive years.
“We enjoy it. It’s still fun,” said Morrical of why he’s still spending hot summer evenings on the diamond at the age of 65. “I’ve had friends out here. A lot of friends have been here and gone … I just enjoy being with the people.”
“It’s still fun,” echoed Heston, 64. “And as long as we can come out and do it and not hurt too bad (we will). …
“My wife wanted to know when I would quit and I said probably when they carry me off, but they’ve already done that a couple times,” he added with a laugh.
Both church league veterans graduated from high school in 1965 — Morrical from Portland and Heston in the final graduating class from Governor I.P. Gray.
Morrical spent two years at Cincinnati Bible Seminary after high school and worked at J.C. Penny during a Christmas break. There he made some connections that helped him land a job in Celina at UPS, where he worked for 30 years before retiring at age 52.
He got involved in church league softball during its inaugural season, and he was there again Friday night despite dealing with a sore knee.
“I don’t know what I did to it,” said Morrical while giving assurances that there was no way the injury would sideline him. “Saturday it started hurting and last night I stepped in a hole. It went the wrong direction.”
Heston worked briefly after high school and then joined the United States Army, working in intelligence for three years. He spent time overseas in Thailand and Germany.
He said he returned to the states with his wife just before their first son was born.
“I went out to play ball that night and they wouldn’t let me play because I hadn’t been to church on Sunday yet,” said Heston, who retired after 35 years in the Carpenter’s union in 2004. “My wife’s uncle knew I hadn’t been to church, so I couldn’t play.”
Drawing people to church was one of the big reasons the church league in Jay County started. The league’s bylaws state that those who play on the softball teams must attend church at least two Sundays a month.
Teams gather to pray before and after games, and the rules prohibit smoking and foul language.
“The reason was … to get people to come to church. That was the meaning of the league, to get people to come to church by playing softball,” said Bud Finch, one of the league’s founders who also played for the Portland Rockets. “We had some pretty good competition actually. The competition amongst churches is better than when I played for the Rockets. People want to win.”
Morrical, Heston and the West Walnut/Union Chapel crew won Friday evening 17-9 victory over Redkey Nazarene, earning themselves another tournament game later in the evening. The tournament concludes today.
But rest assured, regardless of the tournament’s outcome, the veteran duo plans to be back on the diamond again next summer.
“We’ve had a lot of good experiences,” said Heston. “Good times.”
“We’ve had a good time, win or lose. We’ve made a lot of good friends.”
“It’s been a lot of fun,” added Morrical. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”[[In-content Ad]]