Men's softball league returns to Othello

OTHELLO — The return of a men’s softball league in Othello means the baseball fields at Lions Park are going to be seeing some extra traffic this summer.

City Parks and Recreation Director Amy Hurlbut presented an agreement to the City Council last week between the new men’s softball league and the city, which the council unanimously approved. The agreement includes provisions for the league of eight teams to host a total of 64 games in the coming months on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Lions Park.

Hurlbut said the creation of the men’s league stemmed from conversations with community members who was interested for some time in bringing a league back to Othello. She said each of the eight teams will have 12 players, and the 64-game league schedule will include a double-elimination playoff series at the end of the season to determine a league champion.

Games started May 17, and each was slated for 7:45 p.m. first pitches in order to stay well clear of the parameters of field usage for the youth baseball and softball leagues in the city.

Hurlbut was asked by the council if the new men’s league will play in and host any tournaments. She said at this point, the only planned tournament is the playoff tournament at the end of their season, but she wouldn’t be surprised to see those plans expand in the future.

“I do think that introducing a men’s league back into Othello, as it was here for years and years, will get the word back out about Othello being a great spot for men’s softball and other baseball-like tournaments,” Hurlbut said.

Hurlbut also said that it is not only softball players in Othello who are excited to bring a men’s league back to the city. She said many community members have expressed to her a longing for the days when activity at Lions Park — including on the baseball fields — seemed to never stop.

“I think that that’s the goal of many people in this room — to get back to that place again,” Hurlbut said. “I think that introducing a league like this will just get the word out. We will have 12 players on eight different teams, and that’s 100 guys going out and talking to their friends and saying, ‘come to Othello and play a tournament here.’ So I think it’s the first step in networking for some of those relationships that we have had in the past.”

Councilman Larry McCourtie spoke highly of the idea of bringing men’s softball back to the city, saying it could be a great benefit to the community.

“We used to have 32 teams playing here every weekend with a waiting list,” McCourtie said. “People from the coast (and) all around wanted to come to Othello. What a benefit it would make for our little city to get that started again.”

Hurlbut said part of the city’s agreement with the league includes the city public works department supplying two workers to tend to the fields between 6:45 and 7:45 p.m. on league nights. She said their job scope will be limited to moving the bases and watering the fields in order to stay within a small time window between the youth games and adult games.

The men’s league will pay slightly more than $1,200 to the city for field usage for its 64 games — $30 per field per day, plus the cost of a small amount of administrative work provided by the city. Hurlbut said the men’s league will be responsible for providing their own insurance and umpires and creating their league schedule.

Ryan Minnerly can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.