BY DAVE CHOATE
On this cool summer night, they traded in their notepads and pens for gloves, their cameras for bats and their questions for shouted encouragements.
At the Crispin’s House softball tournament on Friday. Aug. 10, members of The Goffstown News team gathered at the Villa Augustina baseball fields to show why they chose writing for a career instead of pitching and hitting.
The Goffstown Junior Baseball team won the fourth annual tournament late in the night, coming out of the loser’s bracket to beat Granite State Plumbing and Heating 7-2 and 9-2. The perennially trod upon newspaper men and women beat the Goffstown Police Department before being defeated by the Department of Public Works and the eventual champion Goffstown Junior Baseball team.
Crispin’s House President Al Baines said the group typically raises about $2,000 through the tournament.
Teams pay a $10 charge per team member and the group holds a 50/50 raffle, with all food being provided by sponsors.
Baines said the way the community comes together for the event is as important as the fundraising itself.
“We’re not really out to make money. We have a great time doing this, and it brings the community together,” Baines said.
A rule change this year helped to cut down on the scoring, with all home runs being counted as outs. Baines said the rule change was designed to keep the games moving faster, as each game had to end after either five innings or a half hour in order to get everyone home before the next day. Fortunately for The Goffstown News, they did not hit any home runs.
The team was involved in the night’s lone glitch, a game against the Rotary Club which was not supposed to be played. The game was finished, but the results did not count toward the official tournament totals.
The spirit of competition was still strong, but there were no “hey, batter batters” within earshot. Instead, most teams seemed happy to be playing and having fun outdoors – even those who didn’t end up with the bragging rights the championship confers.
“I want to win, and I always want to win. But it’s fun too, and these people are good sports and good people, raising awareness for the kids,” said Goffstown News sports editor Jerry Liptak.