BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—Focused on winning Wednesday’s softball game against the Ladson Patriots, Julie Yates, 10, thought she was free from distractions—that was until her uncle, a soldier in the U.S. Army, surprised her on the ball field.
“It made me tear up,” described Matthew Chrobocinski after seeing his niece’s priceless reaction.
Yates has played on the Moncks Corner Recreation’s softball team, the angels’ 9-10 age division, for the last five years.
“Everything that she does, she puts her heart in to it,” said Chrobocinski, who’s now been in the military for about two years.
Chroboncinski returned home to Berkeley County Tuesday night after spending the last year in South Korea. According to Yates’ mom, the surprise during Wednesday’s softball game at Tom Conley Field had been in the works for several weeks.
“She’s been sending letters to him for the past year. She talks about him all the time. She loves the fact that he’s serving our country,” said Stephanie Yates, the girl’s mother. “So me and my sister thought it would be a really neat idea, she loves softball, to bring him out here and surprise her.”
To stage the happy reunion between uncle and niece, Yates’ coach called for a timeout during the game. The young players huddled around him, giving Chrokocinski just enough time to gather himself at third base.
“I was shaking. I knew she was going to just die from happiness,” said the girl’s mother.
When the team pep talk ended, Yates made her way back to her mark, only to find her uncle had already taken it. For Yates, it looked as if she saw a ghost.
“It was amazing,” she said after the big surprise. “I’m pretty close with him. I haven’t seen him in a long time.“
As the two hugged on the field, the crowd started chanting, “USA! USA!”
Now that her uncle is home, the 10-year-old says she plans to make the best of their short time together.
“We’re going to throw him a party,” she said.
As if her day couldn’t get any better, the Moncks Corner Pirates went on to beat the Ladson Patriots 11-4.
Chrokocinski says he will get to enjoy his time home with family and friends for about the next month. After that, he says will spend the next nine months in Africa.
