47th Annual Congressional Baseball Game

Weathering rain and then the humidity, more than 6,000 spectators gathered at the 47th Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game for Charity in July.The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington and the Washington Literacy Council will receive more than $140,000 – a fundraising record – from the proceeds of this year’s summer classic held for the first time at the new Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

The game was low scoring until the bottom of the sixth inning when Congressman Wamp hit a triple to left field that sparked a five run rally that left the Republicans leading 8-to-4. The Democrats countered and scored five runs in the next inning, but as the home team, the Republicans were last to bat. Down one run in the last inning, the Republicans loaded the bases on three straight walks. The rally appeared to fall short in the next at-bat when a routine ground ball back to the pitcher should have ended the game. Fortunately for the Republicans, the catcher made an error attempting to turn a double play and threw the ball into right field which allowed the winning Republican run to score.

Congressman Wamp extended his hitting streak to 12 straight games with an infield hit in the second inning and a triple in the sixth. “I’ve played for 12 years, and this was the best baseball game I’ve played in,” Zach said. Expressions of sportsmanship and bipartisanship were prominent as the Republicans won their eighth game in a row by a score of 11-to-10 over the Democrats.