The city’s police and fire departments gathered Saturday at Whitney Field for a softball tournament and cookout for fun and camaraderie. Above, reserve officer Andrew Vega keeps his eye on the pitch as he prepares to swing for the fences. (Photo by Douglas LaValley)
WESTFIELD – Although the city firefighters have more than held their own in competition with police at the Guns and Hoses golf tournaments, when the departments met for a softball tournament Saturday the cops swept the board.
Chris Kane, president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 111, said that the double-elimination tournament was “a camaraderie thing” which the police and firefighters haven’t done for a few years.
Kane said that the tournament at Whitney Field was an opportunity for the police and firefighters to get together with their families for a day-long social outing and, during breaks in the action on the diamond, everyone joined in for the cookout which included corn fresh from Officer Chip Kielbassa’s farm.
Each department fielded two teams and after both police teams played both firefighter teams the competition moved to the winner’s bracket and the loser’s bracket.
Two teams of police officers swept a “just for fun” softball tournament against teams of firefighters Saturday at Whitney Field. (Photo courtesy the Westfield Police Association)
“The team that one, they went undefeated,” Kane said and went on to report “the score (of the final) was 18-15, 18-16, something like that.”
Kane’s ambiguity about the score of the tournament final correctly underscores that the tourney was not about winning or losing but was “just for fun.”
There was one serious aspect of the afternoon when the group “passed the hat” and the proceeds collected were contributed to the Kevin J. Majors Youth Sports Foundation in the names of fallen Officer Jose Torres and fallen Firefighter Glen Walz.
