College Standout Lends Services to CSL Team

Abby Morgan isn’t the typical beer league softballer.

Sure, the native Floridian and shortstop for the Congressional Softball League’s Triskelions is in it for a good time. But she brings to the table a much more polished style of play. This comes from her days as a championship-caliber pitcher for the Lady Bears, the softball team for Washington University in St. Louis.

Her marquee achievement there: contributing to her team’s runner-up finish in the NCAA Division III College Softball World Series in 2007.

A softball player since age 8, Morgan dabbled in other athletic endeavors during her youth. Softball, however, captured her heart.   Full story

What Exit? Comes Out on Top in Home-Run Fest

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

It was raining home runs on the National Mall on Tuesday night as What Exit? slugged its way past the Big Lebowskis by a score of 22-16.

The hard-hitting tone of the House Softball League game was set early when the Big Lebowskis, whose beginnings trace back to the campus of the George Washington University Law School, scored three runs by way of two homers.

Knotted up at three in the second, the Democratic House staffers from the New Jersey delegation had their own parade of power with a three-run homer and a solo shot, putting them up 7-3.

But in this game, leads simply weren’t meant to last. Full story

Late-Inning Surge Powers Transport This to Victory

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

Shaking off an early deficit, Transport This relied on some late-inning heroics to defeat Bloomberg Government 10-7 in Congressional Softball League action Monday night.

Primarily from the sales, data and products end of the publication, Bloomberg Government couldn’t have asked for a better start. The team smacked the ball around early to get three runs across the plate.

When it came time for the Department of Transportation squad’s first at bat, the team was hardly rattled, scoring four runs and taking the lead. Full story

Rookie Team’s Luck Runs Out Against Veteran Opponent

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

Team Dump Truck, a first-year Congressional Softball League team loaded with University of Florida alumni, had an impressive record before Tuesday night’s game, sitting at 6-2 and ranked 18th in the league.

But then they ran into the buzzsaw known as the Triskelions, suffering a 9-5 loss at the hands of a team that has been in existence since Bill Clinton was president, though the name and composition has changed frequently since then.

Before the game kicked off, Dump Truck team captain Joe Schule acknowledged that playing some of the league’s bottom-dwellers had perhaps artificially inflated the team’s win count.

Still, the collection of former Gators showed little intimidation, hitting for a litter of singles that left the opposition in a two-run hole after top half of the first inning. Full story

Below .500 Teams Face Off With Eye Toward Post-Season

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

In the Congressional Softball League , even if you’re down, you’re far from out.

The CSL post-season tournament is open to every team, no matter how lopsided a team’s loss column is to its win column.

For the NAB’s Big Sticks, who entered the game with a 2-7 record, and the PACA Fools, lacking a win to their name, Monday’s game presented an opportunity to build some kind of momentum before the regular season ends.

Representing the National Association of Broadcasters, the Big Sticks began the game well, something mostly foreign to them this year. Full story

League Searches for Answer to Cancellations

It took years for Major League Baseball to accept the use of instant replay. And it’s still arguing about it. The House Softball League dealt with a similarly sweeping policy change over the issue of cancellations and forfeits. And it’s still arguing about it.

Entering this season, the high command of the HSL huddled to discuss, among other issues, the league’s policy on the matter. The heart of the policy centered on this: At 2 p.m., teams must give a heads-up to the opposition about the possibility of being unable to field a team. By 4 p.m., the team must deliver a final answer on whether it can play. Any notification after that is a loss by way of forfeit.

This season, the forfeit policy features three new provisions aimed at cracking down on teams with a more laissez-faire attitude about canceling games and at preventing teams from using the policy to bolster their records, according to league President Anthony Reed. Full story

Cap City Flyers Use Defensive Prowess in Victory

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

In a low-scoring game on Tuesday night, the Cap City Flyers chose stingy defense over hard slugging offense as their weapon of choice in defeating the Big Lebowskis 7-4.

Billed as the House Softball League’s “Game of the Week,” the matchup pitted two top-five teams against each other.

The Lebowskis, whose founding came via George Washington University Law School, reaffirmed their reputation as a high-octane offense team with a three-run homer in the first inning.

Hailing from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Flyers quickly answered with back-to-back homers in the same inning. Full story

All Vols Win Heated Rematch Against La Flama Blanca

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

It was a testy affair Tuesday night, as the All Vols eked out a 13-12 victory in the bottom of the seventh inning over La Flama Blanca.

The Congressional Softball League game was a rematch from June, when La Flama Blanca, a team whose roots date back to the campus of George Washington, prevailed over the collection of former Peace Corps volunteers.

What was an otherwise good game between two very good teams became overshadowed by extended moments of hot-headend theatrics.

Clinging to a 7-6 lead at beginning of the fourth inning, a close play at second involving a sliding Vols runner triggered a disputed call and a poisoned well. In the CSL, the first and third base coaches are turned into impromptu umpires. It’s a formula that invites favoritism, and on this night, anger. Full story

What’s in a Name? For Hill Softballers, Identity

Settling on a name is a weighty proposition for teams in the House, Senate and Congressional softball leagues. That’s why outside-the-box thinking is the norm rather than the exception. With one collective decision, the string of words will either cloak them in celebrity, provoke fear in opponents or make the masses laugh.

Sift through the standings on the trio of league websites and the names range from the humorous to the spiritual to the, shall we say, less than appropriate.
Full story

Regulators Ride Pitcher’s Arm to Victory

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

The Regulators didn’t let a gem of a pitching performance by veteran John Cymbalsky go to waste tonight, besting the DCI Magic, 18-1.

Cymbalsky has been a member of the team for two decades, when it was primarily based out of the Department of Energy. Today, it’s a mix of D.C. government and federal workers, among other professional backgrounds.

Despite the simmering 102-degree temperature at the start of the game, Cymbalsky turned in a deceptively flawless performance, aided by a curveball that would have left former junk throwing pitcher Jimmy Key proud.

“Just had the control from the beginning,” Cymbalsky said.

The Senate Softball League matchup ended nearly as quickly as it began, lasting just over an hour. Full story

League Standouts (Good and Bad) at the Halfway Mark

Major League Baseball marked the halfway point of its season with an exciting All-Star game Tuesday. Unlike MLB, softball in Washington, D.C., doesn’t hold such a game to mark its midway point.

Rather, it’s the calendar that functions as the unofficial time keeper of the season’s progress. While the second half is now under way, the first provided a preview of which teams are likely to shine and which need work.

In the House Softball League, the Texas Republic continues to stand head and shoulders above the rest. The team is currently on a 15-game regular season winning streak and is in first place with a solid 7-0 record. On Thursday, it’ll square off against the Liberty Square Sliders, a rematch of the 2010 league championship in which Texas Republic breezed to victory. Other teams, such as the 0-7 Swift Justice, haven’t been so fortunate. Full story

Victorious Secret Overcomes 18-Run Deficit

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

On a toasty Monday night on the National Mall, Victorious Secret came back from 18 runs down to defeat Yogi’s Hard Drivers, 31-27.

Awash with offense, both teams’ lengthy early innings at bats caused a premature, fifth-inning finish because of darkness.

The House Softball League game featured two teams near the bottom of the pack as both teams entered the fray with a combined 6-14 record. But after one inning, the game took on historical proportions.

The Hard Drivers, whose beginnings trace back to the House IT shop, came out swinging, scorching the opposition for 18 runs in the first. Every bounce went their way, as the team easily went through the batting order. The half inning alone went for nearly 35 minutes.

It was quite the offensive showing, but the magic faded, and so, too, did their lead. Full story

Softballer Has Long History of Winning

Canon Sobay’s winning credentials are the stuff of softball legends.

The native Michigander and captain of the House Softball League’s Liberty Square Sliders moved to Washington, D.C., almost 10 years ago to work for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Today, he works for Booz Allen Hamilton.

During that decade, he’s won a combined five league championships between his time in the Senate and House softball leagues.

He’s also prevailed four times in the King of the Hill game, which matches the winners of the HSL against the SSL. For three of the four, he was a member of the Senate league.

Full story

Softball With Chris Matthews Gets Lopsided Win

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

Tuesday night’s matchup between Big League Chu and Softball With Chris Matthews ended with a score that resembled a football game rather than a softball game, as the latter pounded the former, 38-17.

The two Congressional Softball League teams started out with a bang, combining for 13 runs in the first inning, as Big League Chu, a team with roots at the Department of Energy, held a slim 7-6 lead.

But in the second inning, Softball With Chris Matthews revved up the offensive engines, putting up a 12 spot and cementing a permanent lead. The team’s big inning was marked by the two-run homer of Chris Matthews, who is the nephew of the MSNBC pundit.

By the bottom of the third inning, Big League Chu closed the gap to 19-13, but the opposition was bound and determined not to let its Murderers Row-type performance go to waste, tacking on an additional six runs. Full story

Coach Hits for Cycle in Losing Effort

(Aaron Guerrero/CQ Roll Call)

On a breezy Monday night in Washington, Ryan Ozimek completed a rare feat in Congressional Softball League history in a loss against the previously winless Get Off Our Lawn.

Unlike other softball games, where a home run generally comes by way of a deep line drive or a collection of errors from the other team, the coach of the Softballer$ hit a three-run homer actually over a fence.

The homer was followed up with a hard-hitting triple in the fourth inning. Inching ever closer, he added a double and a single in the fifth inning.

“It’s bittersweet,”Ozimek said after the game, noting that losing in an exciting fashion sure beats getting blown out. Full story