Play Ball! | Wheelchair athletes come to Crestwood for Softball World Series

By Xavier Sanchez 
Correspondent

A little bit of heat and a summer downpour could not stop a collection of wheelchair softball players from competing for a world championship in the game they love.

Teams traveled from 18 states and Japan to Crestwood, which along with the Frontier League’s Windy City ThunderBolts played host to the Wheelchair Softball World Series for the second consecutive year. The 20-team tournament was held Aug. 3-5 in the parking lot at Ozinga Field, home field of the ThunderBolts.

Trophies were presented to the champions and runners-up in each of three brackets.

Team Japan accepts its Wheelchair Softball World Series Division 1 championship trophy on Aug. 5 outside Ozinga Field in Crestwood. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

One of those trophy-winners was Ivory Harris. This season was Harris’ eighth season competing in wheelchair softball, but it came with several firsts including his first home run and being crowned a champion.

Harris’ Chicago Softball Cubs won the tournament’s Division 2 title.

“It’s exhilarating, there’s nothing like it,” Harris said.

Team Japan defeated the Nebraska Barons, 11-6, the Wheelchair Softball World Series Division 1 championship game. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

Jeffrey Garten of Minnesota plays catcher for his team and contributed to his team’s Division 3 championship.

Garten has always loved baseball, but playing it was not always going to be possible because of his medical condition. Wheelchair Softball and the Wheelchair Softball World Series has made a huge impact on his life, as it has for the past 10 years enabled him to compete in the game he loves.

Photo by Xavier Sanchez

“This is the closest we have to be like our MLB counterparts,” Garten said. “I have loved baseball, so this is the way that I can compete. Me, trying to compete against an able-bodied person … yes, I can walk and do that, but I’m not able to compete. This allows me to compete at a high level.”

Team Japan took the Division 1 title, its second in a row in the top bracket. Japan defeated the Nebraska Barons, 11-6, in the championship game for the second consecutive season — this time in an intense matchup in the pouring rain.

Prior to Japan’s back-to-back championships, the Barons had won 15-straight Wheelchair Softball World Series titles.

The Chicago Softball Cubs won the Wheelchair Softball World Series Division 2 title. Photo by Xavier Sanchez

The weekend was filled with great athletic achievements that could not have happened without the help of sponsors, who lent their time and money to create such an event. Among those was Paralyzed Veterans of America, which donated $10,000. In attendance was the organization’s sport director, Keith Cooper, who throw out the first pitch before the championship game.

Commissioner of Wheelchair Softball and Lincolnway Special Recreation Association executive director Keith Wallace stressed the organization is always looking for more people to get involved.

To learn more about Wheelchair Softball, visit the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association at lwsra.org.

Photo by Xavier Sanchez