THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Fittingly, their first date—on June 27, 2010—was to a local batting cage, followed by a stop at Buffalo Wild Wings.

A year later, the straight, interracial couple is happily dating—and both are excited for the 35th annual Gay Softball World Series, which starts Monday, Aug. 29, with the opening ceremony at Navy Pier. Games begin Tuesday, Aug. 30, at multi-field complexes in suburban Schaumburg, St. Charles and Elmhurst.

Kenost and Gipson will be patrolling the outfield for the Green Team Properties/Gotcha Covered Blinds G-Force in the C-Division. They are among several very unique combos within the predominantly male Open Division of the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association's softball league, which is the largest gay league in the nation.

There's a father-daughter combo. Her husband also plays in the league, and the father has been pitching in CMSA since the 1980s.

There's a mother-son duo in B-Division, though she is just the team manager—but always wearing a team uniform.

There's a gay, married 35-year-old male and his straight brother. They are D-Division teammates.

"I've really enjoyed playing in the CMSA league. It's a fun league and I've met a lot of good guys—on my team and on other teams," Kenost said. "The level of competition [in CMSA] is much better than I anticipated. The baseball IQ [of many players] is high; they have a good knowledge of the fundamentals. It definitely is a misconception that gay players don't know sports as well, or as much as, straight players."

Take, for instance, last year's Gay Softball World Series—when Kenost watched numerous top-tiered A-Division games. "The level of play was exactly what I'd expect for A-Division play, [from] gay or straight players," he said.

Gipson, 30, lives in Lakeview and works as a resident services director for a nursing facility for people with disabilities. Originally from Los Angeles, Gipson has lived in Chicago for almost seven years. She was a two-time All-American fast-pitch softball player at the College of DuPage (COD), and this is her rookie season in CMSA and her first Series.

Kenost, 32, lives in the South Loop and works as an insurance adjuster. He graduated from Fremd High School in 1997, then attended North Central College, where he participated on the school's cross country and track & field teams. He earned All-American honors in track at the NCAA Division III level. This is Kenost's third season in CMSA and this will be the second consecutive year he has played in the Series.

Kenost came to CMSA through his cousin, Brian Kettner, a G-Force teammate who is gay and partnered (to fellow G-Force player Joe Green). Kenost told Kettner and others on the team last season to watch Gipson throw before a game because she certainly was talented enough to join the team—and have an impact.

"I'm a girl in this league and that has not been an issue at all," Gipson said. "In fact, the guys on [my] team were really open to the idea of me joining this season."

Despite the black COD softball shorts that Gipson wears during games, many opponents just viewed her as a girl in the mostly male league—at least at the start of the season, until they watched her in action.

"[Other teams] always are going to under-estimate me and that's fine; we try to take advantage of that," Gipson said. "When they try to take the extra base on me, I can throw them out."

Kenost and Gipson each throw and bat left-handed, and they agreed that the best part of being teammates is the quality time they now spend together on Sundays, including post-game trips to local gay bars with their teammates, and the team's out-of-town tournaments that they have played in. Kenost bats in the top six in the batting order, while Gipson is last, often as a surprise factor for the team's foes.

"I was immediately accepted and made a part of the team," Gipson said, "and this easily is one of the best teams I have ever played on. We have so much fun."

On and off the field. Such as the time this season when, after a game, many of the G-Force players ran into an opposing team at a local bar. The conversation shifted to Gipson and they wanted to know if she was gay or straight. "They thought I had to be a lesbian because I was way too good to be straight," Gipson said, laughing.

Then there was the talk after an out-of-state tournament about Gipson's orientation, again. The opposing team thought, and asked, if she was a pre-op transsexual. Gipson, Kenost and the rest of G-Force laughed at the question.

"Softball is a great way to measure equality," Kenost said. "Good softball players know no orientation. Just being able to hit the ball with power and, at times, in the proper spot, and also the ability to catch the ball and run the bases is how you define a quality softball player.

"Personally, I don't see any difference in the level of play—in CMSA or the straight league that I [also] play in. You're either good or you're not; [a player's] sexual orientation] doesn't matter on the field."

Father-daughter

Phil Runions started playing in the local gay softball league when he was 21 and admits, "I didn't really know much about being gay [since] I had never met a gay person. When it was explained to me [that it was a mostly gay league], I didn't really care, I just wanted to play ball."

This is something he certainly has done—for about 30 years, with and against hundreds or maybe thousands of gay men and women.

Runions, now 51, is married (wife Kathy) with one daughter, Jennifer—and she too plays in the CMSA open division. He lives on the northwest side and mostly pitches; he previously has played multiple infield positions.

Runions plays for the Spin Wildcats in the C-Division in the World Series.

"I enjoy playing 12-inch softball," Runions said. "When I started playing in the 1980s, there was very little 12-inch softball being played in Chicago; most were 16-inch leagues.

"Jenn has been coming to the games since I started playing, so by becoming friends with many of the players, it just seemed a natural progression for her to play [in the league, too], since she enjoyed playing softball like me. We have never been teammates, though."

Runions also has been a CMSA umpire.

"I was happy to hear that Chicago [was hosting] the World Series since we haven't hosted since 1983," he said. "I do wish there were better fields closer to the city, so players didn't have to travel so far. I am looking forward to my 16th World Series. I've been to 24 World Series, including being a member of the championship Sidetrack team in 1983, but I wasn't able to play [in '83] because straight [players] weren't allowed in the World Series until 1994 in Nashville, where my team took 4th-place."

Jennifer Hawrysko, the former Jennifer Runions, is a teacher with the Chicago Public Schools system. She pitched this summer for the Jackhammer Pamas team in the C2-Division, marking her ninth season in CMSA.

"My dad has played in the league since I was 3, so I have acquired many friendships over the time and enjoy playing softball with them," said Hawrysko, 33, a Chicago resident. "It also is great that there are so many divisions, which allows me to play in the same league as my dad.

"Most times, I don't really think about [playing in a predominantly gay league.] A few years back, when there was a limit [on] the number of straight people that could be on a team, my team was told they had the maximum and it took my team captain and I a moment to realize that I was on that list. I think I stand out more because I am a female in a predominantly male league. That just makes it easy for people to remember my name.

"I love that [my dad and I] get to play in the same league. My dad and I are very close, so the league gives us more to talk about and another time to see one another … though my mom gets tired of all the softball conversations."

Hawrysko has played in the World Series two times, but will not participate this time. Her D-Division team took first-place in 2006 in Fort Lauderdale.

"There are so many [softball] stories, from when I was little and couldn't care less about [the sport] and asked my dad to bring my bike to the games … to when I was in my teens and I always felt part of his teams because I would keep score for them," Hawrysko said. "Another reason I have many stories is because each World Series that we went to, and the countless other tournaments, they were usually family vacations. We would head out [before the tournament started] or stay late, and do all the sight-seeing, and in between I would either watch my dad play ball or play some myself.

"I have been all over the country because of this softball league and I got to do it with my family. So while most people would just remember going to the San Diego Zoo, I know I was there because that's where the closing ceremonies were, for instance, the year my dad's team took second-place in the World Series."

Mother and son

Juana Judson is a retired softball pitcher, but she certainly hasn't lost her passion for the sport. The 51-year-old divorced mother of one is now the Team Mom for the Spin Cougars in the B-Division—which stars her son, Chris.

Both are straight.

"If I played in the league, [anyone's sexual orientation] wouldn't matter one way or the other. We're all the same on the field," said Judson, who lives in Old Irving Park and works as a technical consultant. "I've been affiliated with CMSA for the last seven- or eight-years, [including] softball, bowling and volleyball. I've always believed in supporting your kids no matter how old they get. I know a great many of the players and have been the team mom to many of them. I really enjoy watching Christopher play; he's very talented and, as an added bonus, I get to see all my other boys play as well. What more could a mom ask for."

Judson, a native Chicagoan, grew up playing 16-inch softball without a mitt.

"As someone who's played softball for over 25 years and pitched for most of them, I've always tried to help the new players, especially new pitchers," she said. "I appreciate the fact that the players realize I do know the game and listen when I have suggestions. I'm the voice they expect to hear on Sundays, rain or shine."

Chris Judson, 27, is a dual-rate supervisor in the gaming industry who plays outfield and has been a part of CMSA for five years.

"I started playing baseball when I was 7. Ever since I have known how to throw a ball and swing a bat, I've loved the game," he said. "Once I got to college, I went from baseball to softball and have been playing ever since. I will play softball until my body tells me I can't anymore."

Chris Judson, when asked about being straight in a predominantly gay league, said, "It is what it is. It's a very competitive league. Sure, I got looks and people talked about me when I first started in the league because I'm straight. However, the teams I have played on have gotten to know me, as well as others in the league. Those who actually know me know the kind of person I am—and your sexual orientation is your business. Everyone is the same to me on the diamond. We are there to play softball, and play it as competitively as possible while still having fun and making friends."

Chris said having his mom as the team's top cheerleader is, well, just another day at the office.

"She has a natural love for softball from her decades of playing, and she has kept it alive even after she retired from playing," he said.

He has also played flag football in CMSA and basketball in the winter through the Windy City Athletic Association.

"When I moved back [to Chicago from college], my mom asked me to bowl with her in a league on Friday nights. That league was CMSA Friday Night League at Waveland Bowl," he said. "I just wanted to play sports because I like to stay active, so I joined the league. Everything just snowballed from there. The first year I was in the league, I was approached about WCAA winter basketball, then later [about] playing CMSA softball on Sunday afternoons and Thursday nights."

Last year in Columbus, Ohio, was his first Series "and I had a blast," Chris said. "I'm very much looking forward to the atmosphere of [the 2011 World Series], as well as the fact that it is [being] hosted here in Chicago."

The brothers

Humberto Carrillo still remembers the first game he ever played in the predominantly gay open division of CMSA. He was joining his gay older brother's team and Humberto was confident he'd shine.

"I thought [the] team was going to be EASY!!!!" he said, now laughing. "I thought, 'I got this!'

"Then reality bit me and [I] saw that, damn, these guys are good. I actually learned a lot from all of them and they're a blast," to play with.

Humberto, 21, and Rodrigo Carrillo, 35, are teammates, both playing in the outfield for Mi Tierra Crush in the D-Division. Rodrigo is married (to Michael McBride); Beto, as he is now, is single—he is one of two straight players on the Crush. Rodrigo lives in Lakeview; Beto lives in suburban Hillside.

"[Playing in the CMSA] is actually a lot of fun," Beto said. "I love playing sports; my ultimate sport is soccer. My brother asked me if I would play softball with him and I thought it was a great way to play the sport and play with my big bro, which made it better. I love that I get to play sports with him and we're both pretty good."

However, Rodrigo admits he was apprehensive at first about having his younger brother in the league. "I wondered if he was going to be uncomfortable and if it was going to be weird for him to hear my interaction with the team," Rodrigo said. "But he fit right in and the guys have just been excellent with him. They treat him like their little brother."

Rodrigo is a housing counselor at Spanish Coalition for Housing. Beto works in the bilingual landlord association at Spanish Coalition for Housing. Rodrigo has played CMSA softball for six years; this was Beto's second season.

"I play for the enjoyment of being with my friends," Rodrigo said. "It also gives me satisfaction that, as a kid, I was not into sports because I never thought I was good enough to play. So this is kind of like an internal revenge.

"[Being teammates with Beto] is great because sometimes it's hard to find something in common with your straight, younger brother, but we have found an interest that we share and we have grown closer because of it, despite our 15-year age difference."

Rodrigo has played in four past World Series and said he is, "so excited" to, potentially, win a championship at home.

"I wish there was a way that our team could win an award for great sportsmanship," Rodrigo said. "I can't say enough about this team. This group of guys and a gal are just such inspiring people with lots of laughs."