Last week, a portion of the women who participated in the Verona Women’s Softball League gathered for a toast at The Parkside Social.
The league organized during the spring and played for approximately eight weeks during the summer. Roughly 175 women signed up for the age 30 and up league. Participants were divided among eight teams headed by Captains Lisa Turek, Carli Crinion, Colleen Fay, Lisa Schoonmaker, Maryann Phillips, Danielle Kermizian, Dana DeMars and Christy DiBartolo, pictured below. The captains worked with the Verona Recreation Department to ensure that everyone who signed up had a team, and then organized fields and umpires.
Turek, who initiated the effort, says that she was humbled most by hearing children say, “That’s my mom playing softball.” Kerimzian says that being captain was such a rewarding experience. DiBartolo is glad to have met so many others from the other side of town. Phillips noted that the captains were really paramount with pulling all the details together. The organizers say the league not only inspired players to dust off their mitts and get on the field, but to socialize and get to know others in town a bit better.
The league would like to give a special thanks to the team sponsors: The Compound Coffee Company, Green Valley Landscaping, Jola Coffee, One River School, Parkside Social and Verona Heating & Cooling.
The Verona Women’s Softball League hopes to see more women on the field next summer.
