The sounds of softball fill the air at Weber Field as the Gilpin County Recreation Center Coed Softball season begins. Last week was the first week of the nine week season and the Blue Sox lead the five team pack, 3-0.

It is a smaller league than the previous eight teams that have usually entered the fray each summer, but that could mean more competition as the teams will play more games per week and will often be engaged in double headers.

The Acers are pretty much intact after winning the league and then winning the Sonya Putnam Memorial last year. They bested the Champs who earned their name but couldn’t quite make it last year. They should have a fun season as they vie for position number one.

So far, after one week of play, the Blue Sox, also a long, consistent middle of the road team, are in first place and undefeated as they head into week two. They finished in third place last year and are gaining in skills and experience and might just make the top two teams scramble for their slot.

The Players have lost a bunch of members to injury and age, but have rallied to come up with a team, spurred on by Hilary Kysar, who is determined to build on the team’s former glory.

The Ned Double Black Diamond players are a combination of the Eldora Mountain Resort team and a group of Ned employees to round out the numbers. Bee Brogan has organized the group, who seems to be having a great time in spite of the fact that they are situated at the bottom, 0-3. As they gain footing, they will gain ground and things will change rapidly at the end of each week.

Games will be played on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 and 7:00, and along with the thrill of the action, there is also the entertainment factor, as personalities, egos and close ump calls bring out the feisty and fun natures of softball athletes.

(Originally published in the June 8, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)