The six Chicago men's softball teams participating in the 2008 North American Gay Ameteur Athletic Association ( NAGAAA ) Gay Softball World Series, held Aug. 22-30 in Seattle, featured third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishes.
'I think it was a good showing for Chicago,' said Joe Cappelletti, manager of the 'C' Division Hunters team that finished in fifth place. 'The fact that we sent two teams from three [ of the four ] divisions, and one team in each of those divisions place in the top five. … I think that's a very good showing.
'I also think it's a good indication that we accurately rank our players and put them in the appropriate division.'
The 'B' Division Spin Cougars were the top Chicago finisher, placing third. The 'D' Division Kilo Kai Chargers finished in fourth place.
'We took eight players from our regular-season team, and four players from other teams in the [ Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association ] league,' Cappelletti said. 'A team of [ only ] 12 players for the World Series is a slim, bare-bones team, yet the team gelled together very well. Where people had shortcomings at times, others picked them up.
Also playing in Seattle: the V2 Dragons ( 'B' Division ) , the Spin Wildcats ( 'C' ) and the Broadway Cellar Crush ( 'D' ) .
'For all of the Kilo Kai players, it was their first time playing in the World Series, so they were just thrilled with their fourth-place finish,' said Shawn Albritton, manager of the Spin Wildcats and a member of the CMSA softball board of directors. 'It was a great experience for everyone from Chicago, especially the Kilo Kai team; they did really well in a tough division.
'To me, the biggest surprise was Hunters,' Albritton continued. 'They went there as the walking-wounded, but ultimately did really well. Of all the Chicago teams, I think they were the one that really overachieved. One thing that was very apparent when you watch them on the field is, the guys on the team are all very close friends and that shined through. They were very cohensive. I'm sure they wanted to go further, but they should be very proud of the way they played, where they finished. They were really fun to watch; they really played their hearts out.'
Unfortunately, none of Chicago's female representatives in the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America Softball World Series, also held in late August in Seattle, finished in the top three in any division. Chicago Crush, Spyner's Raw Energy and Mic's Girls were the teams representing the Windy City.
Here are the NAGAAA World Series 2008 results:
'A' Division
Los Angeles Vipers - 1st Place
Atlanta Mudcats - 2nd Place
Phoenix Toros - 3rd Place
Atlanta Venom & Houston Force - 4th Place
'B' Division
Boston Club Cafe Crew - 1st Place
Long Beach Roughriders - 2nd Place
Chicago SPIN Cougars - 3rd Place
Boston Angels - 4th Place
'C' Division
Dallas Xplosion - 1st Place
Philadelphia Triple Play - 2nd Place
Twin Cities Edge - 3rd Place
Twin Cities Mess - 4th Place
'D' Division
Seattle Atomic - 1st Place
Atlanta Muddawgs - 2nd Place
Boston Ramrod Machine - 3rd Place
Kilo Kai Chargers - 4th Place
