DGS Goes Out With a Bang, Wins House League Championship

(Patrick Curran/CQ Roll Call)

Sometimes, reality is stranger — and sweeter — than fiction.

Sixth-seeded DGS cruised to a 16-8 win over the ninth-seeded Liberty Square Sliders on Sunday afternoon, securing the House Softball League title in its 14th and final season.

The team — formerly known as Denny’s Grand Slam because of its origin in the office of former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) — was one of the founding members of the House league in 2006, largely because of the efforts of team captain and league Commissioner Anthony Reed.

However, Reed and his squad hadn’t won a championship in the league they founded until last weekend. The victory was sweetened by the fact that the players had decided at the beginning of this season that it would be their last.

“We were losing a lot of people, and we didn’t want to revamp the roster,” Reed said. “We wanted to do it one more time.” Full story

House League Bracket Is Out

Just a quick update, as things have all but wrapped up on the Mall this season. Three games remain on the Congressional League schedule, and four of the six teams involved have already been knocked out of the playoffs. The league will wrap up its season this Saturday at Beulah Fields in Alexandria, Va.; check out our preview post from last week for more details.

The House League, meanwhile, released its tournament bracket over Labor Day weekend. No major surprises there — the final week of play resulted in some slight reshuffling and a few knockouts, but the top four seeds went to Texas Republic, the Mastodons, the Cap City Brewing Flyers and Owego Fire Dept., all of whom have been dominant all season.

The KGBs, Natural Disasters, Channel 4 News Team and Cold Hard Cash stayed on the right side of the bubble to snag the last four spots. The bracket won’t be finalized until Thursday, after the top 48 teams have either accepted or waived their bids, so teams like the No. 49 Not Rocket Scientists shouldn’t give up hope just yet.

Still, it appears that most teams will be accepting the invitation — many more than did in the Congressional League, in any case — so most wait-listed squads shouldn’t hold their breath.

It’ll be a light news week here with few games on tap, but be sure to check back this weekend for updates regarding the finalized HSL bracket and coverage of the CSL finals.

Thunderstorms and Playoff Softball … Must Be August in D.C.

A nasty storm cloud burst over Georgetown just as your correspondent was leaving for the day’s games, so we didn’t have any live coverage on a dreary Wednesday night. For those of you in need of a softball fix, here’s a quick update of what’s going on around the leagues:

• Congress’ August recess isn’t enough to keep softballers inside. The Congressional and House leagues are still in action, boasting several games on the schedule each night. Early evening thunderstorms are common, but they occasionally dissipate before reaching Southwest D.C., where most games take place. The weather has been much more tolerable lately when it’s not raining (remember the 100-degree streak of early July?), so right now is a prime time to crack open a *soda* or two and go enjoy some casual softball.

• Still, with Congress in recess and the Republican and Democratic conventions going off in the coming weeks, there are many more open fields than we’ve seen all summer. Teams who usually can’t reserve a field early enough might want to take advantage.

• The Congressional Softball League tournament is kicking into high gear, and we’ve got all the coverage you can ask for. You can find our recap of the first day of group play here, highlights of which include a bad sunburn, a couple of big upsets and a cat running for Congress. Check in later this week for a short preview of this weekend’s slate. If you can’t make it out to Beulah Fields to watch the action Saturday, D.C’s best softball Twitter account will once again provide a live feed.

• As we mentioned last night, the House league playoff field is beginning to crystallize. On the outside looking in? Keep an eye on the tournament projection page to see whether your team has a chance at sneaking into a playoff bid based on cancellation or a loss this week.

That’s all for now, softballers. If your game didn’t get rained out, be sure to tweet results and photos @CQRCSoftball.

Softball Tournament Hopes to Be Summer Splash

While softball is already a mainstay of the recreational culture in Washington, D.C., its shadow will loom even larger over the nation’s capital this summer when it gets a tournament akin to NCAA’s March Madness.

The tournament is being put on by the National Conference of State Societies, an organization that promotes social and civic activities among residents of D.C. who come from all over the United States and its five territories.

Under the leadership of Bill Christian, president of the NCSS, softball teams from different leagues with connections to a state or territory can take part in the “Summer Insanity” tournament, scheduled to begin June 30 at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

Full story

Opening Day Features Dominating Win by Defending Champs

Despite finishing the regular season ranked 18th in the U.S. House Softball League, Potomac Fever captured its second tournament title in September 2011. They squad continued its winning ways on Opening Day, crushing the McHonda Civics, 26-0.

The Fever previously won the tournament in 2006, the league’s inaugural season.

Two other games were played on May 1:  In what sounds like it must be rivalry game, the Cap City Brewing Flyers defeated the Brew Crew 14-3, and the Get Fresh Crew topped Quality Playas, 27-15.

This year’s tournament will be played Sept. 15-16 at Bolling Air Force Base in Southeast Washington.