Playing The Game Religiously

The collection plate isn’t passed for uniform money, but team members must be regular church goers.

“Regular” means attending three Sunday services a month.

“Kind of a guideline - the roster has to be signed by the local church pastor,” said Mark Hammer, director of the 40-team Church of Nazarene Invitational slowpitch softball tournament on Aug. 17-19 in Coeur d’Alene.

“That acknowledges he is aware of the individuals and they do attend church. We really want to keep it a church tournament.”

Invitations have been extended to 75 churches around the Northwest. The draw peaked at 46 in 1993. Men’s and women’s brackets range from A to D, with a three-game guarantee.

The tournament is in its 18th year.

“It’s unique to this area,” Hammer said. “It’s not unique to the country. There are some considerably larger in the Midwest.

“We have some pretty strict rules in our tournament. We want the teams to be representative of churches and not the city leagues.”

Local churches sought the organizational expertise and fields of the Coeur d’Alene Recreation Department four years ago.

Interest is growing.

The Coeur d’Alene Church League has 18 coed, 13 men’s and seven women’s teams.

“There’s kind of a niche that’s been filled,” said Doug Eastwood, vice president of the CdA league and Bethel Baptist women’s team coach.

“You don’t see the competitive nature. They use it more for fellowship building and rebuilding friendships. It’s quite familyoriented. During the games, the bleachers are full.”

The addition of Amateur Softball Association umpires has also raised the level of play.

“You do have to recruit,” Eastwood said. “You recruit numbers. The important thing is also a commitment the person has to make. I don’t think a person gets a musical instrument and says, ‘I’m going to play the guitar,’ and goes on a concert tour. You have to practice and be ready to play.”

It takes about three years to build a team, Eastwood added. The softball powers are Christian Softball Fellowship among the men and Hayden Friends among the women.

“Sports do bring out the competitive nature,” Eastwood admitted. “Poor behavior is very rare. If it happens, that person usually brings it under check in a hurry. You try not to focus on wins and losses.”

Tournaments

Cami Moffat’s inside-the-park home run rallied Dexco in the fourth inning of Sunday’s championship game in the Bud Light coed slowpitch tournament at Quad. Dexco trailed Kinkos 6-5 before Moffat’s two-run blast keyed the 13-9 victory.

Moffat and teammate Joe Lopez Jr. were named most valuable players in the 15-team event.

Bryan Higgins collected the MVP award after leading Super Kat of Nezperce, Idaho, to the title in the Red Dog men’s C slowpitch tournament at Ramsey Park in Coeur d’Alene last weekend.

Higgins was 3 for 4 in Super Kat’s 12-5 championship win over Red Dog of Coeur d’Alene.

Men’s B and C teams play in the Coors Light/Dudley Sports tournament this weekend at Quad. A handful of coed teams are entered in the T.W. Fisher’s Invitational in Coeur d’Alene.