Take your base: Intramural softball makes a comeback to NGU’s campus
Samantha Meyeres, Staff Writer
“You throw like a girl.”
Slightly offensive phrase or the name of one of the intramural softball teams at North Greenville University this spring?
Intramural softball has captured the attention of NGU students this year. The three week season will wrap up with the playoffs on Monday, April 21.
Some of the other team names include “Bat Attitudes” and “The Cougars.”
Paden Lipe is the coordinator of fitness and recreation and is in charge of all the intramurals. He said that when he was a student at NGU, softball was the highlight intramural of the spring, but it hasn’t been a regular for the past four years.
“I think people are glad to have it back,” he said. “I wish the season was a bit longer, so we’re adjusting for that next year.”
There are 10 teams participating this year, with a minimum of 10 people per team. Some friend groups come together to form a team, but others choose randomly and meet for the first time on the field.
While each team must have a name, some take the extra step to have matching costumes. One team got together and bought matching neon pink jerseys.
“The names are mandatory so you know who you’re for, but colors are preferred. It develops a sort of camaraderie,” said Lipe.
Right now the games are played on the old softball fields above the NGU baseball field. However the playoff and championship games will be played at the official softball field.
Lipe said that intramurals used to all be held at the actual sports fields and that he would like to get back to that more official feel.
“We’ll be amping up the energy in the stadium this Monday for the playoffs. Being there just makes it feel more official and like something extra special,” he said.
Caleb Krupczyk is a junior psychology major and is on the intramural softball team called “Bunt Force Trauma.” He said he and his friends used AI to come up with the play on words that would become their team name.
Krupczyk said he believes that softball is the best intramural that NGU offers and is glad that he chose to participate this year.
“I think it’s the most community based [intramural] because you need 10 people for a team and it’s hard to get 10 people committed every week,” he said. “So I had to recruit a lot of random people, which made it very interesting and also very fun.”
Both Krupczyk and Lipe commented on the positive community that softball and intramurals in general create a space for. Students that may not have ever interacted before form friendships while running bases and cheering each other on.
While the intramural softball season is coming to a close this year, it has been a fan favorite and will make an appearance in the years to come.
“I didn’t expect to have as much fun as I did,” said Krupczyk. “Watching the people who have never played before actually hitting the ball is funny and the sweetest thing because you have no idea what you’re doing, but everyone’s just having fun.”
Feature photo by Samantha Meyeres
