The Kahnawake Mixed Softball League (KMSL) is approaching its end for the year, and after an exciting season, fans are eagerly waiting to see which team will take home the championship.
“We just show up to the ball field to have fun, to be active, to laugh around, and joke with each other, just to have a good time,” said Kawisaienton Wiz McComber, who manages the RezBirds, KMSL’s defending champions.
“It’s just nice to see new people coming into the league, and there’s some people who have been here for 10-plus years being active. It’s nice to see the community park along the outfield to watch, the bleachers get pretty filled up,” he said. “It’s something to do, and it’s good softball to watch.”
Last Tuesday saw Chris Montour Construction (CMC) take on the Boys in the semi-finals, with CMC coming out on top 19-6. KMSL commissioner Ryan Montour commended the diving catches from CMC’s Carl Horn and the pitching of Jeff Jacobs, who picked up the save that closed out the game.
The Original Tobacco Traders (OTT) and the Demons also played, with the Demons winning the first game 11-6 and OTT winning the second 21-7. The Demons ultimately won the final tiebreaker game 17-10, advancing to the second round. The RezBirds took on the Demons last night for the first game of the second round, where the RezBirds won 19-9.
“We finished first overall this season, so we got a first round bye,” McComber explained. “They played the night before in hot weather so they were a little banged up playing last night, whereas we were a bit more fresh since we had two weeks off.”
The RezBirds are now up 1-0 in their semi-final series and will play the Demons again on Tuesday. If they beat the Demons on Tuesday, they will advance to the finals to play CMC, who previously beat The Boys. If they lose on Tuesday, they will play a deciding game on Wednesday to see who goes to the finals between them and the Demons.
“We played CMC last year in the finals, so it’d be kind of like a rematch final,” McComber said.
The season overall has been another successful one, McComber said. For the RezBirds, there have been a few adjustments to their regular roster, which has required teamwork to compensate, he said.
“We’re missing one of our top offensive and defensive players, Darcy Barnaby. Big part of our team. We know we have to step up a little bit more with his absence,” he said. “We’re also missing one of our top female players in Brianne Alfred. She only played one game this season but she was a huge part of the team’s success over the last four seasons.”
Though the RezBirds are defending champions, McComber said that the Demons have a strong team.
“The Demons aren’t out yet. They have a good veteran team, so we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “But if we just stick to our game, we should have a good chance of winning.”
Tuesday night’s game will be played at the Kateri Hospital Ballfield, with the time still to be determined.
This article was originally published in print on Friday, September 8, in issue 32.36 of The Eastern Door.
Eve is a reporter with the Eastern Door. She has also covered harm reduction and social justice issues for the Montreal Gazette, The Breach, Filter Magazine, and more.
