The 2003 CSA SportsFest series presents:

Midnite SoftballFest

the games

The "Fest" goes prime time

For the first time in the events history, SoftballFest was held at night. The response was incredible and the action on the field kept up with all the traditions of SoftballFest's past.

The 53 players were split into five teams using CSA's blind draft format.

Each team played three games, with one team scheduled to play four.

The first pitch was thrown at 8:15pm and the last pitch was thrown at 12:40am. This truly made the event MIDNIGHT softballfest.

Their were three one run games in SoftballFest play, all played by one team. In game two, Team 5, "We can win, We don't have Chad", held on for a 9-8 win over Team 2 and then in game three, Team 5 broke a tie game in the bottom of the last inning to beat Team 3, 12-11. Then, as if two one run games weren't dramatic enough, they lost 14-13 to Team 4, "Darren is Tonja's lil biatch", with a spot in the SoftballFest championship game on the line.

Team 4 got into the title game and were set to face Team 1, "Drinking Circle". Drinking Circle went through the pool play unbeaten. The dispatched Team 2, "$5 Pitchers" in the first game 13-7 and Team 3, "Tonja made Darren her biatch" 16-8 in the second game. A scheduling error had them facing Team 3 again in their third game, which they won 10-5.

"Drinking Circle" was in the finals at 3-0. They were set to face Team 4, but because of the late hour (12:45am), Team 4 agreed to forfeit and give Team 1 the SoftballFest title so that everyone could go eat and drink at All-Star.

Highlights of the night were obviously Pete Coleman of "Drinking Circle" who had a SoftballFest first that he and his team will not soon forget. Leland got his second straight Fest victory, and then his team promptly managed to lose the last three games. Leah Pust became the first Fest participant to play on two different teams when she was traded from Team 3 to Team 5 for a pitcher of beer (just kidding). And Mike Nelson and Patti Stuczynski are now the only two people to participate in all seven SoftballFest tournaments.

Finally, to those that closed down All-Star that night, good work.