North Grounds Softball League

Cumberland School of Law
Birmingham, Alabama

Pod Games:
vs. Cornell 1 @ Sat 11am, Park 2
vs. Maryland White @ Sat 2pm, STAB
vs. GW Hippos @ Sat 4pm, McIntire 2

Division:	Co-Rec
Captains:	Drew Herring, Carlton Hilson, & Cassi Witcher (Team profile provided by Stewart Civils)
Team Colors:	Navy, Grey, & White
Team Mascot:	Rascal the Dog
Team Beer:	Jack Daniels
Team Song:	"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
Distance to Charlottesville, VA:	625 Miles
Roster:	Stewart Civils Drew "Pops" Herring Tripp Watson Matt Evans Carlton "1L" Hilson Tucker Burge Larry Fantroy Matt "Notebook" Dye Lauren Ellison Tanya Soloman Cassi Witcher Heather Locklar Brittany Stancombe
Star Players:	"First of all, we are a team, and we don't really recognize individual achievements. That's a vanity that we try to steer clear of. But, if we have to pick, Cassi Witcher is definitely our star. Her raw athletic ability, paired with her years of softball experience, make her by far the best player on our team."
Law Review Nerds:	"To answer that question I would have to poll our team. I'm too lazy to do that, which is likely why I'm not on Law Review. Along those same lines, if we did happen to have some Law Review nerds on our team, it's best they aren't identified because the rest of us would probably beat them up and steal their lunch money."
Team's History:	"Cumberland has a rich history in the Tournament, sending teams to UVA since at least last year. The 2009 tournament team had a strong showing, out-drinking every team they played. Their greatest challenge came against Harvard, who started things off with Hennesy before the 8:30 A.M. game. Touche' Harvard, touche'. As far as Cumberland's win/loss record in actual softball the general consensus among the returning players is that the team finished 3-2. The team went 3-1 on Saturday, capping things off with the highlight of the tournament. Down by 3 runs in the bottom of the last inning, Cumberland was facing playoff elimination against a gritty Georgetown squad. Then 2L center fielder, Stewart Civils, stepped up to the plate with 2-outs and bases loaded. His very inclusion in the line-up had been the subject of pre-game controversy. 2L Manager Drew Herring had considered the idea of sitting Civils, for fear that tournament officials might finally question his open and persistent use of the performance enhancing drug known in co-rec circles as "Jack." However, Civils refused to sit, and as fate would have it, the hopes and dreams of the Cumberland Co-Rec team rested on his shoulders. In a test of wills, Civils dueled with the Georgetown pitcher, all the way to a full count. As the tension at the field was reaching its peak, Herring called timeout to give Civils a quick reminder. Displaying what little confidence he had in Civils, Herring said, "Remember, a walk scores 2," referring to Tournament Rule C(xiv)(d). Civils calmly replied, "A home-run scores 4." Civils stepped back to the plate with no intention of taking a walk, and with his next swing, scorched a softball down the left-field line. However, the team's heat sank as the ball sailed just outside the foul pole. With the bases loaded, the count full, and playoff eligibility on the line, Civils stepped into the batters box for the last time that night. As the pitcher let go of the ball it seemed to spin in slow motion. Camera flashes could be seen all throughout the crowd. As Civils bat made contact with the ball, a loud "crack" bellowed through the streets of Charlottseville. The Cumberland bench stood in frozen anticipation as the ball continued to climb further and further toward the left-center fence. The ball kept going back and back, until finally it crashed into the outfield lights. Sparks flew as Civils rounded the bases. The entire Cumberland team poured out of the dug-out to greet Civils at home-plate. Cumberland had just come back from the depths of defeat to march off the field in a glorious cloak of victory, all made possible by the performance enhancing drug known as Jack Daniels. This entire story has been preserved by the Cumberland players through its many re-tellings over the past year. It has in no way been enhanced or exaggerated. In fact, it is entirely accurate, exactly as Civils himself remembers it."
Practice Regimen:	"Cumberland prides itself on two things: Educating Lawyers & Co-Rec Softball. Training for the UVA tournament is a never-ending process for us that starts the moment the tournament ends the year before. By the time we've made it out of the state of Virginia, the coaches have decided who will be returning next year, and who won't. A tentative 10 person roster is made, and those players start things off with 6 A.M. BP 7 days a week. We scrimmage 3-4 times a week all summer against the practice squad until the 1L's show up. 1L orientation includes a tryout session where we separate the softball players from the regular students. At that point, rising 2L's and 3L's are re-evaluated and replaced with 1L's if necessary. That's when two-a-days start: BP every morning, practice every afternoon, with pitchers and catchers meeting after lunch for a quick session under a strict pitch-count limit. We usually play practice games all over the Southeast during the fall. As soon as the new year hits, we move things inside. From January 1 through Spring Break we only have closed inner-squad practices. Spring Break is huge for us. That week we pick up and move the team to an undisclosed location in Virginia to start preparing for local weather conditions. We practice 6-8 hours a day for 5 days. The week before the tournament is made up of light walk-throughs and team meetings. The players are allowed to spend some extra time with friends and family under strict curfew guidelines. We load the buses 48 hours before the first game so we can get up there and have some time to scout out the fields and get our heads right for the tournament. The night before our first game is lights-out at 8 P.M. Wake-up call is at 4 A.M. the day of the tournament. We hit the fields early with game faces on, ready to dominate. That's how Cumberland gets ready for a tournament."
Want to Play Against:	"Cumberland doesn't worry about the other teams we face in the tournament. To us, the opposing teams are all the same - just another stepping stone on the road to victory."
DON'T Want to Play Against:	"You don't want US in your pod."
Favorite Thing About the Tournament:	"The sweet taste of victory."
The Tournament Would Be Better If:	"...that were possible, but it isn't."
Anything Else?:	"The male members of our team would like to take this opportunity to openly and knowingly recognize that any success we might have will be directly attributed to the play of our talented and experienced group of female team members. That is why we will be batting Cassi Witcher in the lead-off position. Otherwise the guys on our team would have more at-bats. We are far better served by our girls, starting with Cassi, batting us to the championship."

Analysts' Take:	Dear Lord...