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Tuesday, January 25
Look south for the heat in softball
Robert Elfinger - Chicago Tribune Published January 23, 2005 Schaumburg's new Sport Center may have found a niche with 16-inch softball, but some of Chicago's best 12-inch tournament teams slug it out in the Bridgeview Sports Dome. Offering a much larger playing field because of its original mission as an indoor driving range, the suburban dome at 8900 S. 77th Ave. provides a 70,000-square-foot, Astroturf-covered playing field with a 90-foot ceiling. "This is the closest you'll get to the real game," said Bill Popp, league coordinator. "We had college [players] try and throw a baseball home from the wall, and they couldn't do it. They almost threw out their arms." Bridgeview has offered indoor softball for six years (16-inch also), giving leagues time to mature into a fiercely competitive reputation. "If you're a serious softball player, this is the place to be," Popp said, boasting, "This is the best indoor 12-inch league" in the Chicago area. Catcher Rob Atko thinks the best players are bred on the South Side. "Our whole team is from the South Side," said Atko, 29, captain of the team Yep! "Softball is pretty much a South Side thing." The talent pool of players is deeper on the South Side because "the North Side has more recreation and coed leagues," according to Yep! outfielder Jim Pedigo, 30. "There are a lot more teams out here." It helps that there are teams like Yep!, which played more than 130 games in 2004 and competed in tournaments as far as Florida. Although there is no automatic home run, the center-field wall is 310 feet from home. That allows some running room. The second session of the indoor softball season begins in February and registration is under way. For more information, call 708-924-8099, extension 8859. Another place to check out indoor softball leagues is the Ditka Sports Dome, 730 N. Bolingbrook Drive, Bolingbrook. The second session begins at the end of this month. For more information, call 630-739-7600.
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