Last weekend the Whitman women’s club fastpitch softball team co-hosted a tournament with Walla Walla College.

Whitman’s team played four games and lost all of them. These games brought the season to an end for the team.

“We don’t win many games because we’re such a new team. We have few experienced players. But we have a lot of fun, and last weekend we were hitting really well,” said Junior Kim Hooyboer.
Although the team has been on-again-off-again basis since its creation, during the last two years it has been particularly strong.

Current senior Laura Sanchez and juniors Hooyboer, Breanna Adams and Joscelyn Barden started to bring the club back to its active competing status in 2005.

Since there were enough participating women this semester, the team was able to travel for the first time. On April 14-15 the team traveled to Moscow, Idaho and played teams such as Boise State and the University of Idaho over the weekend.

Walla Walla College alumna Amanda Heimbigner coached the team this year and last year. “Amanda and her family have been indispensable,” said Hooyboer.

Heimbigner and her family have provided the team with coaching and equipment during the past two years.

The team does not receive much funding, but they have to cover the costs of umpires, new balls for every game, travel costs and tournament interest fees.

The team does not have enough money to buy equipment, so the women rely on their own personal gear.

This semester the team has been stepping up its fund-raising efforts. Team members sold cookies and, for the first time ever, hosted a “man-auction.”

The team came up with the “man-auction” idea one day before it took place. The team auctioned off dates to a taco truck to the highest bidders.

“I’m really proud of the team. We’ve grown a lot even if we’re not winning. The girls on the team make it all worth it,” said Hoobyboer.

“I’m really satisfied with the team. It has been a really positive experience,” said team captain Sanchez.

Sanchez said that this year worked out well especially regarding field space. Last year the team had some difficulties sharing the field with IM softball teams. This year the IM softball season ended before the tournament last weekend.

This year 10 teams competed in Whitman’s IM softball competition.

The team named Mammaries, led by Phalkun Mam, won the IM softball finals.

The Drama Club’s traditional team, the Makitas, once again made themselves well-known with their team t-shirts and raunchy cheer: “Drinking, smoking, Theater too. Go Makitas, screw you!”

Junior Forrest Seamons, captain of the Makitas, explained that the cheer is not meant to be offensive to other teams. “Makitas is a screw gun,” said Seamons.

Seamons admitted that the Makitas was not a good team this year. “We don’t win games,” said Seamons. But for most of the players, the team is about “having fun, making fun of ourselves,” said Seamons.