Neumann Recreation offers many different sports during the three seasons here at Neumann University. These include pickleball, futsal, basketball, and many more to get students involved around campus.
However, intramural softball, offered during the spring semester, stands out as the most popular and competitive one almost every year.
Softball attracts the most students out of every intramural sport, and it is not just because teams need at least nine players.
“IM Softball is like the Super Bowl of intramural sports,” says graduate Assistant Brian Barnett, who works with Neumann Recreation, “Everybody waits all year for softball to start up and they take it more seriously than any other sport. It can get very competitive at times, but at the end of the day, every is having fun!”
Some teams take it so seriously to where they host tryouts among their friends for teams, selecting rosters and making cuts as they choose so.
The softball games are hosted at the Neumann turf field at the end of the day and the field is split in half so two games can be played at once.
Some teams even design their own uniforms solely for intramural softball, it’s that big.
When asked about what makes softball so enticing to play, junior Roller Hockey goalie Kevin Toye said,
“I like to compete with the club hockey team against other sports teams, and the fact I’ve played baseball before gives me the chance to play a similar game competitively that doesn’t feel like a recreational league. It feels more competitive since we’re against other Neumann students.”
IM Softball game under the Neumann Turf field Lights
Credit: Kaila Booth
Each game goes seven innings, as well as several other rules such as two foul balls means an out, no sliding into bases, and the pitch count starts at 1-1 to keep games from taking a long time.
Students on the NCAA baseball and softball players, as well as athletes currently in season are not allowed to participate in intramural sports.
Even though games can get competitive, at the end of the day all the students who participate in intramural softball are there to have fun.
Thomas Angelone, junior assistant captain on the Club Ice Hockey Team said,
“I like softball because it’s a fun way to gather with friends and have a friendly competition against people at the school. It is a great atmosphere where a lot of people come together to play and watch.”
As the playoffs for intramural softball are set to begin soon, competitiveness will only grow even more as softball continues to be the biggest IM sport at Neumann.
