A Greene Story | 9 | Softball Champions
#GRGStory
This last Friday Greene Realty Group played in the annual Realtors Softball Tournament. Every summer, real estate firms from across Thurston County put together teams that battle it out in a softball tournament. It’s always fun, and while it’s never supposed to be too competitive, it always is.
Last year Greene Realty took the championship as #1. It was a satisfying win that wasn’t forgotten all year. This year played out a little different…
Scrambling to find players just weeks before the tournament, things were stressful in the office. With our most esteemed players either injured or on vacation with family, we weren’t looking to good heading into tournament week. Thursday night before the game, we had just 9 people committed.
Then something unexpected happened. Gang Greene (our softball team name) had almost 18 people show up making our numbers higher than any other team there. Nerves were still high when we went into our first game, but after winning handedly, everyone felt confident, and ready to take on one of the toughest teams in Realtors Softball. Coldwell Banker.
Fighting hard for 45 minutes, down by one, bases loaded, 2 outs, the final inning, our number one player Keenan French steps up to the plate. If we beat Coldwell Banker we’re guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals, and a chance to defend our championship. The odds couldn’t be more stacked in our favor. This was it… our heaviest hitter steps up to the plate. Time seems to be moving in slow motion as he adjusts his sleeve and sets his bat just above his shoulder. The pitch is thrown, the ball arching just over the plate… BOOM! The crack of the bat echoing throughout the stadium, the field is silent as the ball is flung high into center field. The Coldwell Banker center fieldsman throws back his hat, runs back, further, eyeballing where the ball will land, it floats back as it catches the wind. Then it happened. His mitt extending up as it captures the ball securely in the webbing… Coldwell Banker wins round 2.
“I put a good swing on it, but it was low outside pitch. I had envisioned everyone cheering my name as I hit a home run, but I got too much under the ball and it popped up good to the center fieldsman,” said Keenan.
It was a hard-fought loss, but we were still in the running. After another 2 hours of play we didn’t make it into the final but placed 3rd overall. It wasn’t our best result, but it just might have been the most fun we’ve had. Although a lot of us at Greene are highly competitive, ultimately, we love each other, and we love our community. For us, taking 3rd place in Realtors Softball is just where we want to be, especially when we had so much fun!