They had a softball in their dugout with the initials "CS" emblazed on it. And Glen Rexing added the word "whatever." The ball was there for every game, a tribute by the Chicago Dragons B-Division team that played in the annual Gay Softball World Series, held Aug. 17-22 in Columbus, Ohio, to Carl Sharp, who passed away this spring. Sharp often wore a baseball hat with the word "Whatever" on it.
Sharp would have been with the Dragons for this yearly trek, and no doubt was looking down and smiling, as the Dragons claimed the second-place trophy.
They dedicated their season to Sharp "and we kept talking about Carl all week long," at the series, said Dragons player-coach Frank Kisner, the team's pitcher.
( The Dragons actually were the third-place finisher, but a protest against the eligibility of players on the first-place team from San Francisco was upheld. San Francisco thus was kicked out of the tournament and lost its championship, resulting in the Dragons being pushed into second place. )
"I think we over exceeded our expectations. Our goal was to play on Saturday, [meaning] top six [teams in the division]. Everything on top of that was a bonus," Kisner said. "The key was, team chemistry; everyone really got along … and great team defense. Everyone pulled for one another; we didn't let anyone get to down."
Offensively, Rexing and Brian Redar were strong throughout the Series for the Dragons. Hill had several home runs. Kevin Tebbe also had a game-winning, walk-off home run.
Defensively, the team was anchored by Marcus Perez and others. The four-person outfield of Hill, James Platt, Brian Percival and Ted Cappas "played amazing," Kisner said.
Redar has now been on three second-place teams in the Series ( 1997 and 2003 ) and said this year's team "was my favorite, mostly because of the team that we came here with; everyone had a great time."
Meanwhile, the Chicago Menace scored the third-place trophy in the top-tiered A-Division, the team's second-ever third-place finish ( 2012 ).
"Chicago represented pretty well," Kisner said.
"We came home with some hardware; I'm really happy," added Jack Neilsen, who played for the Dragons and also serves as the commissioner of the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ( CMSA ) Open Sunday Softball league. "It definitely was very special to have Chicago A-Division and B-Division teams on the platform [to receive their trophies]."
The Chicago Closers finished 9th in B-Division; the Chicago Jox were 13th in D-Division; and the Chicago Legends also were 9th in the Master's Division.
Chicago was represented by the Black Widows and the Green Team G-Force in the C-Division.
Overall, it was one of the best-ever showings for Chicago teams at the Series.
"It was really neat to see Chicago [teams] do so well," said Cameron Turner, the player-coach for the Chicago Menace.
"This Series really shows that, nationally, our organization, CMSA, competes with our peers," Neilsen said.
The Menace struggled in pool play, losing 8-5 and 13-3 to Palm Springs and Atlanta, respectively, then tying San Francisco, 7-7. They ended pool-play with a 7-6 win over the Twin Cities Frostbite, thus the Menace were seeded seventh among the 10 A-Division teams for the double-elimination tournament.
After wins over Phoenix and Fort Lauderdale, the Menace were crushed by Houston, 17-2.
The Menace rebounded to topple Palm Springs 16-7, "playing one of our best games of the tournament," Turner said. The Menace then crushed Los Angeles, 17-5.
Chicago was ultimately eliminated by the Houston Force, 15-10.
Menace pitcher Kevin Ball was "amazing in every aspect [of the game]," Turner said. "He controlled the [opposing] hitters very well and, as always, he was amazing defensively and a great hitter, too."
Shortstop Cesar Saenz played magnificent defense, making some "amazing, amazing" plays throughout the Series, Turner said. Plus, Saenz had six home runs.
Outfielder Charles Piper was exceptional defensively, including multiple diving catches.
The Jox won three games in a row late in the Series, but were ultimately eliminated by the Orlando Rage, 10-5. The Jox then returned to Chicago and, on Aug. 23, won the D1 Division championship of the CMSA Open Sunday Softball league.
The annual women's softball World Series, run by the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America ( ASANA ), will be held Oct. 18-24 in Orlando, Florida.
The 2016 NAGAAA World Series will be in Austin, Texas, while the 2017 Series will be in Portland, Oregon.
