Pioneers at 2007 Softball Nationals

The season started for the Columbus Pioneers (Pioneers) in mid-May practicing twice a week.  This practice paid off with the Pioneers having a great start to the season.  The Pioneers dominated the tournament we were inviting to by the Center Coast Confluence team in St Louis early July winning all games played.  Our home tournament at the end of July was won by the Pioneers.   After practicing for months and playing in two tournaments the Pioneers were ready to go to Nationals in St Paul, Minnesota.  The Pioneers were off to Nationals to continue their winning season.

Thursday, August 23^rd                                                                                                                         

Our first game started at 10:15am and was played against Midwest Cicero Flyers.  The Pioneers were the home team and came on the field strong scoring four runs in the first inning and run ruled the Flyers in the sixth inning.  We only gave up 4 hits and 1 run this game. 

The Pioneers had their second game at 2:15pm against the Nebraska Barons which proved to be more difficult of a game for our team.  We were defeated in this game but did hold our own.  We had 4 runs to their 8 runs. 

Our final game of the day was against the Yankees at 4pm.  They started out the game with a 3 run lead on us after the top of the first inning but that quickly changed.   We then went on to beat them 12 to 4. 

The weather today added some challenges to playing the game!  There was a lot of rain creating puddles throughout the field including a huge amount puddle taking up a portion of right field.  The water in right field was deep enough that the umpires decided if the ball went into the puddle the ball was dead and it was an automatic double play. 

Friday, August 24^th 

Today, we had an early start to the day arriving at the field by 8am to be ready for an 8:30am game with WPVA Warhawks.  The Pioneers were the visitors starting off the first inning with four runs batting through eight batters.  The Warhawks finished that inning with one run.  The Pioneers went on to obtain five more runs for a total of eleven runs.  The Warhawks were shut out the remainder of their bats with no hits.  The game was called by the umpires at the conclusion of the fifth inning in accordance with the run rule.  During this game we had three ground rule doubles.

Our next game was sure to be a challenging game.  It was against the Chicago Cubs RIC team the number two team in the Nation in 2006.  It started at noon and we were the home team.  The Cubs started off strong with twelve runs in the first two innings.  After the second inning we held them and they only had one more hit and that batter never left the first base.  We did get one run in the forth and one run in the fifth inning but it was too little too late and the game was called by the umpires in accordance with the run rule. 

At this point, we were playing our final game to reclaim our title of fifth place for the second year in a row.    This final game was played at 3:30pm against the New England Red Sox.  The Pioneers were the home team and started the bottom of the first inning with one run.  The Red Sox’s quickly came back in the second inning with two runs.  These were there only runs of the game.  They were shut down the rest of the game with only two hits and two walks.  The Pioneers went on to get another run in innings two, three, and four and four runs in the fifth inning. 

The Pioneers finished Fifth in the Nation, remaining in Division I, for the second year in a row.  Jack Roudabush was named the Best 3^rd Base player in Division I.

Special Thanks                               

A special thank you goes out to all of our dedicated sponsors for all of their assistance in making our season possible.  The Columbus City Department of Recreation and Parks has been a sponsor for years in providing us with a state of the art accessible softball field.  This year we had one Home Run Level Sponsor (donation level of $2,500-$4,999) and that was Buckeye PVA.  One Triple Hitter sponsor (donation level of $1,000-$2,499) and that was Kroger’s for their support through gift card sales.  There were two sponsors at the Double Hitter level (donation level of $500-$999) and they were Western Ohio Wheelchair Sports Association and the Dairy Queen in Heath, Ohio owned by George Tehan.  Our Single Hitter sponsor (donation level up to $499) was Dr. Paul Mumma  family practice.  NBC Sportscaster, Omar Ruiz did two outstanding stories on the Pioneers this year.  We hope to continue the relationship we have with the above sponsors in future years and continue to gain more sponsors.  Their support is essential in the future of the Pioneers.

Weather permitting it is the goal of the Pioneers to start practice in April 2008.  It is the goal of our team to attend the tournament in Florida in May 2008, a tournament in Chicago, host 1-2 home tournaments, one additional tournament at a location to be determined, and Nationals.  There is a huge need for financial support to make this possible.  Please contact a  team representatives if you are interested in helping at tlh72@juno.com or make a donation at http://ohwcsports.org/Support.htm