11 Good New Stories: Baby’s (Almost) 1st Catch; Let Sleeping Bears Lie

ACROSS AMERICA — The Major League Baseball 2022 play of the year — so far, but also hard to top — didn’t occur on the field, but in the stands of the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, where the Reds were hosting the San Diego Padres.

Jacob Kingsley and his wife, Jordan, were in the stands. He was feeding their 11-month-old son when, suddenly, Padres catcher Luis Campusano fouled off a pitch from Reds pitcher Jeff Hoffman. When the ball bounced into the stands, Kingsley grabbed it with one hand as he fed the baby a bottle with the other.

Kingsley told MLB he “had some fierce competition” for the ball, “but it ended up happening great.”

“Baby first,” he added.

His wife said the catch “was like the coolest thing ever, that’s ever happened to us.” Patch has the video. » By Daniel Hampton for Cincinnati Patch

The Cost Of 650 Golf Balls: $5 Million

While the foul ball at the Great American Ball Park was lucky for the Kingsley family, a Massachusetts family is finally getting some green after suffering through a barrage of errant golf balls that pelted their home. Their home with a view of the 15th hole of a swanky golf course took 651 such hits, they said, and shattered their quality of life along with multiple windows. A jury agreed, finding the golf club didn’t adequately protect their home and awarding them $5 million. » By Megan VerHelst for Plymouth, Massachusetts, Patch

Who’s Been Sleeping Under My House?

What happened to a California family is priceless. All winter long, they’ve been hearing rustling and a mysterious snoring. The riddle was answered when the snoring stopped and the rustling intensified. The family could “no longer deny there was probably a bear under the house,” according to a Facebook post by the BEAR League, a nonprofit that helps people and bears peacefully coexist. Their hibernation period over, the bears crawled out from under the house and walked into the woods, refreshed for a spring full of adventure. » By Kat Schuster for Across California Patch

A Homecoming Dance

Dancers at Westside Ballet in Santa Monica, California, have extra spring in their steps as they rehearse for “New Horizons,” a neoclassical contemporary piece the company will perform on Mother’s Day weekend in its first return to the stage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Broadway ballerina Lyrica Woodruff is coming home to dance in the performance. It’s a “gift to be able to come back to Santa Monica and perform on my home stage,” she told Patch. “The pandemic was hard on everyone, but especially for us performing artists. Being able to have my first performance back on a stage in my hometown with my home studio is surreal and extra special.” » By Nicole Charky for Santa Monica, California, Patch

An Unforgettable Birth Day

When she’s old enough to talk about it, Savannah (top photo) will have a great story to tell about the day she was born. Her father, Marlborough, Massachusetts, firefighter Matt Lupisella, delivered her in the back of an ambulance after a hospital sent him and his fiancee, Jennifer, home, telling them they were too early. But Savannah was in a hurry. » By Neal McNamara for Marlborough, Massachusetts, Patch

An Unforgettable Wedding Day

A couple’s trip down the aisle has been on the fly since they turned a joke about hopping a flight to Las Vegas to get hitched into a real plan. It worked out, but not quite as they’d planned. The aisle the bride walked down was on a Southwest Airlines jet. The minister wore a sash of snack mix packages and toilet paper. There were other unforgettable elements, too. » By Beth Dalbey for Dallas Patch

An Unforgettable Mind

Keep your eyes on Elliott Tanner. The St. Louis Park, Minnesota, native who learned to read on his own as a toddler will receive his bachelor of science degree in May from the University of Minnesota, where he majored in physics and minored in math. He’s going after his doctorate next, with the ultimate goal of becoming a high-energy theoretical physicist and professor to “spread this joy and passion for physics with other people,” he said. » By William Bornhoft for St. Louis Park, Minnesota, Patch

A Spicy Surprise

A Maryland resident came home from vacation to a spicy surprise: Someone had painted the front door black, red and yellow to resemble an Old Bay Seasonings can. Old Bay spices were created in Baltimore, which may explain why the person spiced remarks about the paint job with good humor in comments in a Reddit thread. » By Jacob Baumgart for Annapolis, Maryland, Patch

Stolen Dog Comes Home

First, the bad news: A Boston family, bereft after the loss of a family member, welcomed Rex into their home almost a decade ago to make it feel a little less empty. Then someone stole him. Where Rex has been for nine years is unclear, but when an animal control officer in Stoughton, Massachusetts, found him roaming the streets, it was clear life had not been kind. He’s back home in Boston with the woman who has been missing him for so many years now. Microchipping works. » By Haley Cornell for Stoughton, Massachusetts, Patch

Feline Superhero To The Rescue

“Peanut, did you have a plan on how you were going to get down?” How nice it would have been if a Massachusetts arborist could have interrogated the cat perched on a tree limb some 80 feet in the air. “What’s up with that, Peanut?” Whatever Peanut was chasing, or however she was chased up there, it’s lucky for Peanut that Andrew Joslin knows a thing about climbing tall trees and that he moonlights as a feline superhero. He was, however, unable to lure Peanut to the ground with sardines, and attempts to rescue her only sent her farther up the tree. Eventually, he set a trap, and Peanut finally made it back to the ground. » By Megan VerHelst for Across Massachusetts Patch

Police Befriend A Pig

No one calls police pigs unless they’ve got an ax to grind, and we don’t. So because police and pigs are protagonists in this story from Portland, Oregon, we wanted to clear up any confusion before we continue. A black-and-white spotted pig was tying up traffic the other night and wasn’t all that interested in getting caught. Police knew if they rushed the animal, all manner of chaos might erupt on the highway, so they plied the pig with treats. (It appears pigs may not be keen on Nacho Cheese Doritos, which seems to be points in their favor.) The pig’s in the custody of a local rescue shelter, which is searching for its owner. » By Colin Miner for Portland, Oregon, Patch

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11 Good New Stories: Baby’s (Almost) 1st Catch; Let Sleeping Bears Lie originally appeared on the Across America Patch