It’s not often you see a big crowd at Bergman Field to watch a Mesa State softball game in September, but for the fourth year in a row the field hosted the Softball/Wrestlers softball game. With the wrestlers trying every trick in the book to pull off the upset, the ladies were able to win it with walk-off fashion, winning 3-2.

“It’s fun out there, but obviously you want to try hard and try to win,” softball coach Kris Mort said. “It’s a little humiliating to get beat at your sport by a bunch of wrestlers.”

The game wasn’t played by the rulebook as the softball team had to give the wrestlers their own newly acquired pitcher Courtney Maihi, who was a professional in New Zealand. Even with the extra pitcher the wrestlers played the game with 15 outfielders. Yet, the team still committed two errors in the outfield.

“The big difference between this game and a regular RMAC game is that there are a ton of outfielders in the game,” Sara Jordan jokingly said. “But I guess if you hit it over the fence it doesn’t matter.”

After Jordan’s solo home run to give the ladies a 2-0 lead, Coltin Ostermiller of the wrestling team hit a two-run double in the fifth to tie the game at 2. Assistant coach Cindy Cohn came into the seventh inning to shut down the guys with her fastballs and nasty change ups.

“It was fun hitting a home run, especially striking out the first time,” Jordan said. “It was nice to just hit it out the way I did.”

With the score tied in the last half of the seventh inning, Lindsey Drayer came to bat with the winning run on third. Drayer hit a groundball to the shortstop and the run crossed the plate, giving the ladies a 3-2 win.

“For the most part it’s a lot of fun, but I don’t want to risk hurting any of our players,” Mort said. “Luckily for us, nobody got hurt. We had a great crowd and it was a blast to have all these people out here.”

The game was more than just winning this year as the two teams decided to make it into a charitable event. People who attended the game were asked to bring food to donate to the Kids Aid program. Two washer sized boxes were filled up by the end of the night. People who donated were treated to free hot dogs that were cooked up and served by athletic director Butch Miller.

“I think it’s great that it’s for charity,” Mort said. “Our athletes are just so busy. They put in 20 extra hours on top of their school work and some even have jobs. Any time we are able to squeeze in a charity event is just so great. I think we did a great job and we are proud of the amount of food we raised. Hopefully it will turn into a big event next season.”

The wrestlers begin their season Nov. 13 at the University of Wyoming Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo. Their first conference match is Dec. 2 against Western State. The ladies continue to practice and do work outs to prepare for their season, which begins in late February.

ahimes@mesastate.edu