JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — For more than 30 years, the annual legislative softball tournament has brought legislators, lobbyists, staff, and friends together for some friendly, off-the-floor competition.
This year was no different, as creatively named team “We’ve Got the Runs” took first place in the tournament Wednesday night.
Team captain, Rep. Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, said his team worked really well together even though some hadn’t had the chance to meet until night of the game.
The most difficult team “We’ve Got the Runs” played was the “Speaker’s Torpedoes,” Haahr said, pointing to their strong infield. However, the championship game — which was only about 15 minutes long because the Binder Field lights were scheduled to turn off before they could finish — came down to Haahr’s team and “Munzlinger’s Gunzlinger’s.”
Haahr said they played about five or six games total, and everyone had a really great time at the tournament, which ultimately was a charity event.
“The big thing was reading money for the charity,” Haahr said. “Plus, it was some good competition between the representatives, senators and staff. Sometimes, it’s better to redirect that anger from the floor and debate to the softball field.”
Katie Reichard, a member of the committee that organized the tournament and staffer for Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, said this year’s charity event had enough interest to expand from the usual eight teams to ten.
Plus, while the final numbers are not in just yet, Reichard said the last count showed the event raised about $3,000 for their selected charity: The Samaritan Center in Jefferson City. That number does not include the donated food, beverages, fields, and umpires, she added.
Reichard said this is the third year the event has supported The Samaritan Center, an interfaith social service agency organized to meet emergency or crisis needs of the people in mid-Missouri, according to the Center’s website.
“We’re grateful for the softball tournament and the legislators that support us through [this event],” said Ben Defeo, operations manager for The Samaritan Center.
Defeo said the money raised from the tournament will go toward funding their food pantry, especially the perishable foods like milk, eggs, and meat that can not be donated through food drives.
“We’re seeing record numbers of people in need and decreased numbers in donations as a trend,” he said. “All of our funds right now are going toward [the pantry].”
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To donate to The Samaritan Center, visit www.midmosamaritan.org.
Check out The Missouri Times photo gallery of the tournament.
Ashley Jost is no longer with The Missouri Times. She worked as the executive editor for several months, and a reporter before that.