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Sports

Wheaton Regional Park Hosts County Softball League

The Montgomery County Recreation Department adult softball league began its fall season in Wheaton this month.

The Montgomery County Recreation Department is once again making it possible for adults of all ages to play softball this year. According to Patrick Sullivan, the recreation program specialist for the department, softball leagues have been offered since the early 1970s.

Today there are 24 spring, summer and fall leagues, and there are as many as 500 teams included in the men's and senior leagues, and about 250 teams in co-ed leagues. It is Sullivan's guess that between 4,000 and 5,000 residents of Montgomery County and Prince George's County participate in the leagues. 

At the beginning of each season, teams can register to participate for a fee of $660. The fees help to pay for the cost of softballs, umpires and administrative work. Individuals without a team are encouraged to contact the recreation department for placement on a roster.

Each team is allowed a roster of up to 24 players. It is not uncommon for teams to consist of family members, old friends or longtime business associates. Ten players are allowed to play in the field and 12 players are allowed to bat, explained Sullivan. Each team plays a 10 game schedule and there are post-season playoffs for teams that qualify.

Some teams have a sponsor, which is usually a local business. The sponsor pays the team's registration fee and also provides funding for uniforms. In turn, the sponsor receives advertisement as their company name appears on the players' jerseys. 

One location often used for the leagues is Wheaton Regional Park, which is principally filled by the co-ed league on Thursday nights. 

Ray Riggs, a member of We Are Family, a Silver Spring-based team, played at Wheaton Regional Park this Thursday. According to Riggs, his uncle, Carl Slater, started the team in 1994 and it consisted entirely of family members.

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"It started out with all my aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters playing," he said.

Riggs, 25, has been playing for the team for six years along with his brothers Justin and Eric. Riggs was a high school baseball player and also was on his college team while attending Coppin State University.

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"I play because it's fun," he said. 

Dan White, a Gaithersburg resident who played in Wheaton this week, is a member of two teams in the league, Happy Hour and Sallas Ducks. He has played in leagues in the spring, summer and fall for the last 17 years. According to White, one of the best parts of playing recreational softball is enjoying the camaraderie with his teammates, some of whom he has played with for many years.

"I've watched them get married," he quipped.

White was originally attracted to the league when a friend asked him to play in a game.

"They needed a player one night. I went and was hooked," he said. 

John Bogdan, another player at Wheaton Regional Park on Thursday, is a founding member of NIH United Softball. The team consists of scientists who work at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda. He was attracted to the league because it allows him to play in the fall after the regular baseball season.

Like White, Bogdan, 47, enjoys the experience of bonding with his teammates.

"After every game we all go to the Stained Glass Pub in Silver Spring," he said. "It's a very good social environment."

Team schedules and standings can be found on the recreation department website.

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