Lodi Little League helps surprise twins with military sister's visit

Nothing brings tears to a crowd's eyes or tug on their heartstrings like family members in the military reuniting with family and one Lodi family, with the help of the Lodi Little League, did just that.

Nine-year-old twins Ryan and Justin Wilson thought they had won a Nintendo Switch in a raffle when they were called to stand at home plate after their game May 2. They got something much better.

Instead of someone bringing out a Switch, Ryan and Justin's sister Justine Asbridge and her husband Micheal came out to surprise them. There were tears all around as they raced to hug their sister and brother-in-law, in turn bringing tears to the eyes of the onlookers.

"It was amazing," said Ray Wilson, Ryan, Justin and Asbridge's father. "It was an unforgettable experience."

The original plan had been to surprise the twins at school but the Asbridges missed their flight from Oklahoma. Wilson reached out to the Lodi Little League instead, asking them to help reunite the siblings between games May 2.

"I see them once a year if I get lucky," said Asbridge, who is stationed at Tinker Air Force in Oklahoma. "I saw them in August of last year."

She said that everyone clapped and cheered for their reunion and that a lot of the people watching began tearing up, just like she and her family. Justin walked away, sobbing when he saw his sister, Wilson said.

"When I saw my brother crying, I got more emotional," Asbridge said.

Asbridge and her husband both serve in the Air Force as Staff Sergeant E5s as administrators. Micheal Asbridge is currently stationed in Greenland for a year and has another six months left there, according to Wilson.

"Obviously it's hard to see them," Wilson said. "[Ryan and Justin] have been missing them lately, asking when they are coming home."

Luckily for the brothers, their sister will be moving closer to them come August. She will be stationed at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

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Wilson knew his son-in-law was coming home for his son's birthday so he thought to surprise the twins as well.

"I had to be quiet about it," Wilson said, adding that when he called the president and vice president of the Lodi Little League, they were all on board.

Tom Rachelski, a veteran and the person in charge of public relations for the Little League, said it was really important for him to help out because he also understood what it was like to miss family. Rachelski spent a year in Kuwait in 2003 and knew the reunion for the Wilsons and Asbridges needed to be special.

So Rachelski set up a fake raffle in an effort to keep the players at the game after their game had ended. At the end of Ryan and Justin's game, Rachelski stood at the top of the stands to "announce" the raffle winner, surprising many at the game.

"No one knew what was going on with this raffle and they asked to buy tickets," Rachelski said. "I just told them to go along with it."

After announcing the twins as the winners of the raffle, Rachelski told them a special guest would be giving them the surprise. That's when Asbridge, her husband and her son came out onto the field.

"One of them swears he knew," Rachelski said.

The only downside to the surprise: Wilson said he'd have to buy the boys a Nintendo Switch since they didn't actually win one like they thought.