Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Intramural softball season closes on chilly night

Only four teams walked away champions

izzlin’ Sissys won the men’s open division for the fourth time in a row.

By Joe Preiner (Contact)

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

The intramural softball season ended late Sunday night after a full day of games at Clinton Lake Sports Complex. When the dust from the fields settled, four teams claimed championship victories and yearlong bragging rights.

Recreation Services at the University of Kansas crowned winners in each of the sport’s four leagues; Corecreational, Men’s open, Men’s Greek, and Women’s.

The journey toward championship glory began at 10 a.m. for the teams remaining from Saturday’s matchups. Each team worked its way through the tournament bracket.

In order to complete the tournament on time, every team had to play multiple games Sunday. The task proved too much for many of the competitors, and by 9 p.m. the championship games were set.

Seven innings were all that separated the title contenders from the championship. The women’s division had already crowned a champion, with Alpha Delta Pi defeating Delta Gamma. The next two games, which took place simultaneously, featured teams from the men’s Greek and corecreational divisions.

In the men’s Greek division, Phi Psi OHB squared off against Beta’s top team, Beta A1. The contest began with Beta jumping out to an early lead, up 6-2 after the first inning of play.

The game would prove to be difficult though, as Phi Psi OHB battled back in the second inning. Solid hitting from the entire lineup yielded eight runs and Phi Psi took over the lead. It would remain close throughout the next several innings, with scoring coming easily for both teams. In the end, Phi Psi was able to rally enough to pull off a 22-17 victory.

The Corecreationl division pitted Poles N Holes against the Long Shots. The game was all about defense, and the score stayed low the majority of the game. In the end, Long Shots prevailed against its opponent and captured the championship title. With three champions crowned, only one game remained.

Sizzlin’ Sissys, the three-time defending champion of the men’s open division, looked poised for a fourth consecutive victory. The team met up with Mooses in the final, and just after 10 p.m. the game got underway. The temperature was a chilling 46 degrees when the first pitch was lobbed over the plate, but the players on each team were warmed up and ready to go. Sizzlin’ Sissys started off with hot hitting, recording seven runs in the top half of the first inning. The team never looked back, cruising to its fourth consecutive championship by a score of 20-9.

Walking off the field, team member Brad Witherspoon, Humboldt, senior and men’s basketball walk-on, started asking questions.

“When’s the parade?”

Jonathan Miller, Kansas City, Mo., said that the Sizzlin’ Sissys didn’t dominate all their games. Occasionally the team was challenged.

“We probably played our hardest game at two today,” Miller said. “Once ‘Spoon showed up though, it was all downhill for them.”

As the team gathered for its group picture and received the coveted championship T-shirts, team members playfully asked Witherspoon which championship was better, NCAA basketball or intramural softball.

“Man, I don’t know which one is better,” Witherspoon said jokingly. “But this feels pretty good right now.”

The team members finished their season and intramural softball careers on top, and dedicated the win to fellow teammate Josh Houtz.

—Edited by Nick Mangiaracina

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