WASHINGTON—A coalition of press members defeated a team of bipartisan lawmakers 9–4 at the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game on June 26.
The yearly match is a charity event that has raised more than $3.7 million for breast cancer survivors through the Young Survivors Coalition.
“We take this really seriously,” Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) told The Epoch Times. “It’s fun, but it’s an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together for breast cancer survivors.”
Ms. Castor has played in every game since the event’s inception in 2009.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Democrat Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) were in attendance.
Actress Meghan Cavanagh, who played Marla Hooch in the women’s baseball movie “A League of Their Own,” was also watching from the stands; Ms. Cavanagh is a breast cancer survivor.
The match took place at the Watkins Recreation Center, giving fans a more intimate setting than the usual Nats Park experience—although the ring of Capitol Police posted at the barrier surrounding the field was a reminder that the players were VIPs.
The game had a nostalgic feel, too—no giant television screen blaring ads for the latest mobile phone or offers to refinance your mortgage, just the sound of the crowd chatting between bites of hot dogs or ice cream.
It had been a scorcher of a day with temps reaching 98 degrees but, mercifully, the game started a bit after 7 p.m. and dusk was approaching as it began.
Team Congress didn’t hit their stride at first, but the press team, Bad News Babes, struck immediately and scored two runs by the bottom of the first inning.
The game lagged a bit for the next two innings; the congresswomen struggled to make offensive progress, but provided a good defense, and with solid pitching from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) they only allowed one more run from the Babes over the next three innings.
But as the sun began to set and the evening got cooler, the game began to heat up.
The Babes came alive at the bottom of the fifth and were able to bank five runs with no outs.
An error allowed Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times to casually steal second base; the congresswomen let one more runner cross home plate before they regained their composure with a strong double play.
But then the lawmakers came alive: First, a catcher’s interference ruling allowed Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-Calif.) to take first, and the press team walked Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.).
After a clutch second-base hit by Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.)—aided by a series of catching errors—the bases were loaded.
The press team then walked in a run and allowed three more RBIs before the inning was over.
The congresswomen were able to avoid total defeat, grabbing three quick outs at the bottom of the sixth, but were unable to clinch any more runs in the top of the seventh, leaving the final tally 9–4 in favor of the Bad News Babes.
