Bad News Babes begin new winning streak at Congressional Softball Game

The press team defeated members of Congress 9-4 in a light-hearted charity game during the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game. But the rain held off until later in the evening, and unlike last year, no protesters occupied the outfield.

It was the second straight victory for the press, which is trying to regain momentum after lawmakers caused turmoil in 2022. Despite a late-inning rally, Congress’s bats couldn’t respond to a good defense.

The biggest highlight of the night came in the fifth inning: the announcement that money had been raised for the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit organization that supports women diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40.

This year, organizers raised more than $670,000. Announcers Andrea Mitchell of NBC News and former representatives Cheri Bustos and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said it was a record.

By the time the members got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, the press team, known as the Bad News Babes, had already scored nine runs. But the lawmakers’ offense started to click, and they managed to load the bases and score a number of times.

Republican Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma, who had a large cheering section with the slogan “The Bice Is Right,” helped keep the momentum going. Almost on cue, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., stepped up to the plate with her walk-up song, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” to extend the rally. But in the end the press had the upper hand.

It went faster than the Congressional Baseball Game two weeks ago, which is played in Nationals Park. Unlike both that event and last year’s softball game, climate demonstrators stayed away. Large signs at the Watkins Recreation Center security checkpoint warned that anyone entering the field during the game could be arrested.

Despite a bad weather system that swept through the Washington region on Wednesday evening, it remained dry until the end of the game.

Lawmakers had hoped for revenge after their 2023 loss. “Our plan is to start a new streak,” said Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida softball game’s Democrat and founder.

She added that her team was ready for a decisive tilt after three months of fielding, batting and flyball practices.

While the players on both teams take winning seriously, Wasserman Schultz, a breast cancer survivor, said camaraderie is embedded in the heart of the game itself.

“At the end of the day, both teams win because of the attention we can put into raising awareness that young women need to pay attention to the health of their breasts so that God forbid they get and get breast cancer. asked,” she said.