By Rod Hansen
Staff Writer

If a team can win several victories in a single event, Goffstown Junior Baseball did it at the annual Crispin’s House Charity Softball Tournament.

Most importantly, Goffstown Junior Baseball emerged as tournament champions at the Villa Augustina fields on Friday, Aug. 4.

Their final 6-5 victory came in the fifth and final inning against Granite State Plumbing and Heating long after the sun had set in the summer sky.

Junior baseball came in first among the six participating teams, with Granite State Plumbing and Heating coming in second, Goffstown Fire Department taking third place, Goffstown Police Department ranking fourth, and Goffstown’s Department of Public Works and Neighborhood News both receiving honorable mentions.

The event raised $1,500 to benefit Crispin’s House, a local youth services organization.

“This was a wonderful event,” said Crispin’s House Executive Director Laurie Hambleton.

“We had some great athletes, people really putting their full effort into the games. And Goffstown Junior Baseball certainly deserves special recognition,” Hambleton said.

Along with putting forth tournament-winning game play, Goffstown Junior Baseball also contributed to the Crispin’s House cause by donating their concession-stand profits to the charity.

Junior baseball also saved the event from becoming a washout by repairing the fields after a day of heavy rains, Hambleton said. Rain came down in sheets throughout the morning, leaving the fields muddy and raising questions about whether the 6 p.m. event could proceed.

The junior baseball volunteers made the event possible, Hambleton said.

“After the downpouring rain in the morning, the junior baseball volunteers were out there by three o’clock in the afternoon filling in puddles with dirt and raking out puddles,” Hambleton said.

“They were literally moving mountains for us. They did more work that afternoon than most families do in the entire springtime,” she said.

Hambleton also commended the softball players for putting a full effort into the games and abiding by rules meant to keep scoring in check.

Under the day’s rules, a team had to call a home run a “Blue Ball” before the hit. Any home run not designated beforehand would result in an out.

“The whole point to that rule was to prevent a home run derby,” Hambleton said.

Similarly, any “Blue Ball” called that did not result in a home run would constitute an “out.”

Jerry Liptak, Neighborhood News’s sports editor and captain of the softball team, said the Blue Ball rule may have partly accounted for the team’s 0-2 showing at the tournament.

“The Blue Ball rule added some pressure, and made for a more competitive game,” Liptak said.

Neighborhood News lost its first outing of the evening 9-4 against the Goffstown Police department, followed by an 11-4 defeat against the Goffstown Fire Department in the second round of play.

“We seemed like we had control in the first game, but the wheels came off somewhere in the early innings,” said Neighborhood News Community News Editor Steve Andrews, who played right center in the outfield.

“We didn’t strand many runners, and we didn’t score many runs. Next time we’ll have to spend more time in the batting cages,” Andrews said.

Although Hambleton commended all the players for their sportsmanship, she noted one player almost broke the first rule of play, which was “No one is allowed to get hurt.”

Liptak skirted a violation of that rule when he twisted his ankle sliding into third.

“Jerry continued to play heroically, so we decided not to penalize him,” Hambleton said.

And while Neighborhood News failed to garner a victory, Liptak said the team continues to look toward the future,

“Next year, we’ll be back,” he said.