With a smile that summed up her afternoon, MacKenzie Reed hopped out of a Franklin Township firetruck shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

However, the 9-year-old from Lehighton didn't just get to sit in it. The truck was her ride from the fire station to Phifer Ice Dam Park, where she was the guest of honor at the 30th annual Russell "Bups" Ahner Memorial Old-Timers Softball Game.Funds raised at the game will benefit Reed, who was born prematurely at 24 weeks and spent the next three months in the hospital. She's legally blind in her left eye and recently stopped using a feeding tube which she needed since she was 8 months old.Before the first pitch of the game, pitting a Franklin Township squad against their foes from Jim Thorpe, Reed made her way to the pitcher's mound and got a visit from Smokey Bear, who handed her a baseball.Shortly after, she fired the first pitch of the afternoon toward home plate."Thank you everybody, play ball," Reed said.Funds were raised throughout the game in various methods such as concession sales, a bake sale, a Chinese auction and a 50-50 raffle.While a final number is still being tallied, Franklin Township Athletic Association President Wayne Wentz said the total money raised over the 30-year history of the game should now be close to or over $115,000.Jim Thorpe's team and the Franklin Township Athletic Association each presented Reed's family with a $1,000 check."This means a lot to our family," MacKenzie's father, Shane Reed, said. "We can't thank our friends and family, and all of the fans, enough for coming out in support today."The game itself featured its share of great plays and even greater laughs.In the early innings, Franklin's Cory Sherer drilled a pitch over the left field wall. His next time up, however, Jim Thorpe shuffled things around in the ball bag and caught him with the exploding ball trick.Not to be outdone at the plate was 85-year-old Donald Bloom of Lehighton.Playing for the Franklin team, Bloom cruised to the batter's box in his walker, grabbed a bat and then lined a single up the middle while a courtesy runner took off from home.After being checked on by his teammates, Bloom gave the thumbs-up and took himself out of the game.Jim Thorpe also had a few highlight reel moments.First baseman Eric Schrantz snagged a liner and tagged the bag for an unassisted double play. While at the plate in the next half of the inning, the Jim Thorpe police officer pounded a single up the middle, leading Coach Leo O'Donnell to nickname him "Big Papi," after Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz."We're just glad everyone could come out and support this great cause and have a good time," Wentz said. "It really means a lot to the young men and women we play and raise the money for."