At his core Al Lovinggood is a
comedian who can crack up anyone. But there was nothing funny about Al’s form
in the co-ed softball playoffs.
Lovinggood threw strike after
strike for his Kirk Freeport Joolerz en route to the A league title. The side
defeated Christina Hefner and the Coors Light Chuggers in extra innings to end
the 2010 Fall Adult Co-ed Softball League. The victory culminates a magical rookie
campaign for sponsors Kirk Freeport and marks the first time in roughly five
years that the sport’s top flight has not been won by current dynasty Home Gas.
Lovinggood, 39, states he was happy
to claim the win last week.
“First of all, on behalf of the
team, I’d like to thank our sponsors Kirk Freeport for allowing us the chance
to make history,” Lovinggood. “Personally I thank Koolaid for their awesome
drinks that I enjoyed before the game. It’s great winning the title and to be
honest I knew it was going to be a good day when I had hot (and I mean hot)
chicken nuggets from Wendy’s.
“I think this has been a great
season. In fact the second half of 2010 has been incredible for me. My ex-wife
leaves the island, I land a wonderful job and we win the championship.”
A veteran of local softball for
over a decade, Lovinggood had plenty of help on the road to glory. During the
season Neil Appleby made solid contributions and cocaptain Jordan Hartmann used
his experience from rising the ranks of Cayman’s little league to implement
team strategy. In the championship game, noted flag footballer Taj Haye made a
remarkable catch, with the winning run at the plate, deep in left field.
Interestingly the Joolerz victory
was not without controversy. There was some confusion as to the equipment the
side used, with the Chuggers claiming one of their bats was illegal. Lovinggood
saw umpire and little league president Jim Partham side with the Chuggers and
offered his usual sarcastic take on the matter.
“My initial reaction was: an
illegal bat? Are you serious? The reality is who knew? It was long and green
and didn’t feel abnormal to us. In any case they should have let sleeping dogs
lie because we honestly didn’t have a clue and we could not have cared less.”
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