Senate Bats Overpower House Rivals in Softball Championship

October 22, 4:24 pm by jpfinlay

When playoff baseball arrives every fall, there is a saying that “you can’t script October.” The saying proved applicable last night in the King of the Hill Classic, the annual game between the champions of the House and Senate softball leagues.

Senate champ Well Swung won the game 20-19 on the last pitch of the game, a double smacked to left field by shortstop Chris Bale.
The game was close throughout, the final inning so tense that most in the crowd stood on top of bleachers to watch the drama unfold. In the top of the seventh and final inning, the House League’s Texas Republic came to the plate down three runs, 16-13. After the first two batters quickly made outs, Kate Fry stepped to the plate. Fry, a stalwart for Texas Republic all summer, took the first pitch for a ball, then on the next pitch popped up along the right field line. The ball dropped just foul and out of reach of the sprinting Well Swung defender. The missed foul ball gave life to the Texas Republic; Fry would eventually walk.
With a runner on, the Texas bats came alive. A series of singles and doubles and a three-RBI triple from Gene Howard brought in six runs. When Well Swung pitcher Matt Anthes ended the frame with a strikeout, the Texas Republic held a 19-16 lead, with the bottom of the Well Swung order due up.
After an undefeated Senate season with many blowout victories, Well Swung were unaccustomed to being down in the last inning. “Honestly, I was not really thinking it would go to the bottom of the seventh,” Well Swung captain Canon Sobay said. “Texas Republic is a really good team.”
Well Swung hitters did not panic and were patient at the plate. A series of walks pushed in one run, and then Mark Chandler stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He smacked a single past second base that brought in a run, making the score 19-18, setting the stage for Bale’s walk-off double.
“Having no outs really helped me, I could be aggressive,” Bale said. “I was just looking to get a good pitch, and it worked.”
The offensive fireworks for both teams started early. The first inning alone saw two balls clear the 300-foot outfield fence. The first, a two-run blast by Texas Republic’s Matt Cassidy, was only outdone by Patrick Bransford’s three-run shot for Well Swung in the bottom of the first. Bransford’s ball launched off the bat like a rocket, leaving no doubt the ball was leaving the park.
But the play of the game was on defense, in the top of the fourth inning. With Well Swung at bat and Texas Republic down 9-6, a hit deep to left center brought Deon Nelson sprinting around third base attempting to score from first. Bale caught the throw from the outfield and fired a relay to catcher Sarah Pierce. Pierce grabbed the relay and tagged the sliding Nelson out at home plate; the crucial out limited what could have been a Texas Republic rally.
In the bottom of the fourth, Well Swung continued to display their power. Sobay hit a towering two-run home run to stretch the lead to 11-8. Two innings later, Bransford responded with another home run. Bransford again crushed the pitch, the sound of the metal bat hitting the leather ball distinguishable from 30 feet away. The Texas Republic outfielders knew there was no chance of making a play, watching the ball as it sailed through the night sky over the left field fence.
“It was a great game. That’s a great team,” Josh Maxwell of Texas Republic said. “They can really hit. We really enjoyed being out here, playing under the lights, and representing the House League.”
The loss was only the second this year for Texas Republic.
Well Swung received home-field advantage thanks to the Senate All-Stars defeating the House All-Stars prior to the King of the Hill game, 18-7. Like Major League Baseball, the leagues agreed that the All-Star game winner gets home-field advantage for the King of the Hill game. Senate League Commissioner Sonja Harkin explained the importance of the All-Star game, “We have players from the most conservative offices and the most liberal offices, all playing together. You throw the politics out the window.”
Unlike the Senate League tournament, which was played in a steady downpour, the conditions for the King of the Hill game were near perfect. A crisp, clear fall night on a gorgeous field at the Anacostia Naval Station provided the perfect backdrop for a hard-fought, well-played game. In the end, the Senate team proved too powerful for their House counterparts.
“Texas had a rough year,” said Casey Ruberg of Well Swung. “Vince Young lost his starting spot, George Bush left office and now Texas Republic loses the King of the Hill.”

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