FRUITLAND — Ryan Twilley was alone Saturday.
Outnumbered, the Salisbury resident dodged the neon green balls hurled at him at the Crown Sports Center while picking off as many people from the other team as he could. The cheers got louder the longer he survived, but in the end, the odds were too great. And then the Salisbury Horizons Adult Dodgeball Tournament continued. But Horizons can be expensive to maintain, said program Director Donelle Van Holten. “Each child costs about $1,300 to go to the program, so right now we’re looking for as much money as we can get,” she said, adding they have a car wash at the Salisbury Wal-Mart slated for July 11. Van Holten said the dodgeball tournament came from a Virginia Beach, Va., Horizons program who had held a similar event. Besides raising money, teams earned medals and bragging rights. So for most of the morning, the teams took turns running around and dodging balls hurled at them, all in the name of charity.
“Oh, dang,” said one spectator as a ball rattled loudly off the clear fiberglass wall during one game.