12th Annual "Step to Bat for Kids" Charity Softball Tournament
May 2, 2009
For eleven years, the College Park Scholars community has come together each
spring for a day of fun and competition all in the name of charity. The
Annual "Step to Bat for Kids" Charity Softball Tournament has raised thousands
of dollars over the years for children's charities both here in the DC Metro
area and around the world.
Congratulations to International Studies for their victory in the 2008 College Park Scholars Softball Tournament! International Studies beat Arts in the championship game. International Studies reached the championship game by defeating Advocates for Children in the semi-finals, and Arts reached the championship game by beating Earth, Life & Time in the semi-finals. Advocates for Children defeated Earth, Life & Time in the third place game. International Studies won $1,000.00 for Save Darfur Coalition, Arts won $500.00 for Joe's Movement Emporium, Advocates for Children won $200.00 for Cedar Lane School, and Earth, Life & Time won $100.00 for the JED Foundation.
The success of this signature College Park Scholars event hinges on the support and dedication of our students, faculty and staff. Students are responsible for raising all of the money that is donated to the charities of the winning teams. In 2008, Scholars students totaled more than $1,800.00+ in contributions, all of which went to help the worthy causes each program identified. Meanwhile, our faculty and staff work behind the scenes both in the months leading up to the event and on the day of the tournament to ensure that we provide the best possible experience year in and year out.
The 12th Annual College Park Scholars "Step to Bat for Kids" Charity Softball Tournament will get underway at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday May 2, 2009. In the meantime, our staff is already working to make this tournament the best one yet.
Fundraising
Check out our fundraising page for updates by program. Be sure to contact your program's Student Advisory Board if you haven't already contributed to your team's effort. Remember: The sooner your program submits all its money, the higher your seed on game day!
Rules
Check out our rules page and continue reading for an explanation on our new, round robin tournament for this year!
Game Format
The Charity Softball Tournament uses a round robin format for the opening round. In a round robin, each team will be guaranteed to play three games. Teams will be divided into three groups of four teams. Each team will play the other three teams in its group once.
The seeds within each grouping will be determined by the seeds each team received prior to the tournament. For example, if teams A, B and C were the first, second and third seeds respectively based on their fundraising, those three teams would be the #1 seeds in their groups. The order of the games will be determined by seed, with the #1 seed having the latest start time and the #4 seed having a long break between games. The game schedule is as follows, with the home team listed second.
- 4 vs. 3
- 4 vs. 2
- 2 vs. 1
- 3 vs. 1
- 3 vs. 2
- 4 vs. 1
Once the opening round games have been played, the team with the best record from each grouping will move on to the final four. If there is a tie between two or more teams in a grouping, the head-to-head record will be used to determine which team advances out of the grouping (whichever of the two teams won when they faced each other):
Three teams have now advanced. A fourth, "wild card" team will be selected based on overall win-loss record. If there is a tie between two or more teams, the tie breaker will be runs-against. The team that has given up the least amount of runs will advance. If the runs-against category is tied, the next tie breaker is the amount of money raised over the limit PER PERSON.
- Total runs allowed
- Money raised above the minimum per person
Following lunch, the final four teams will be reseeded at random prior to the semifinal round. Once seeds have been determined, the first seed will play the fourth seed and the second seed will play the third seed. The winners of those two games will advance to the championship game, while the losers will play a consolation game to determine third place. The championship game will be played as normal, and there will be no need for a second game as has been necessary in past years.
Past Champions
Year |
Champion |
Runner-Up |
Third Place |
Fourth Place |
2008 |
International Studies |
Arts |
Advocates for Children |
Earth, Life & Time |
2007 |
Advocates for Children |
Science, Technology & Society |
Business, Society & the Economy |
--- |
2006 |
International Studies |
Media, Self & Society |
Earth, Life & Time |
--- |
2005 |
Business, Society & the Economy |
International Studies |
Arts |
--- |
2004 |
Life Sciences/SDU (co-champions) |
n/a |
Advocates for Children |
--- |
2003 |
Media, Self & Society |
Science, Discovery & the Universe |
Earth, Life & Time |
--- |
2002 |
Arts |
Business, Society & the Economy |
Environmental Studies |
--- |
2001 |
Arts |
Science, Technology & Society |
Business, Society & the Economy |
--- |
2000 |
Science, Technology & Society |
Environmental Studies |
Life Sciences |
--- |
1999 |
Life Sciences |
American Cultures |
Arts |
--- |
1998 |
Life Sciences |
Science, Technology & Society |
Science, Discovery & the Universe |
--- |
For more information about the Charity Softball Tournament, please contact:
Charlie Schuster
Undergraduate Softball Coordinator
College Park Scholars
1125 Cumberland Hall
301.314.2777
cschust1@umd.edu
