This week the Congressional Women’s Softball Game is making the leap to the big leagues, as the annual charity event heads to Audi Field for the first time on Wednesday evening.
Members of Congress will once again square off against a team of journalists, appropriately dubbed the “Bad News Babes.”
The beloved tradition began back in 2009, after Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was treated for breast cancer. She decided a softball game would be a good way to raise awareness about breast cancer in young adults.
Now it will get the full professional treatment under the lights at Audi Field, home of soccer teams D.C. United and the Washington Spirit. In the past, the game was played at the more modest Watkins Recreation Center in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, but growing interest pushed the small venue to its limits.
“I’m nervous and excited,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Obviously, it’s so tremendous that our game has graduated to be able to be hosted on a field like Audi Field. So it’s the opportunity to sell more tickets, to raise more money for our charity, and to have the game be more high profile, because part of the goal of our game is to help raise awareness for young women that they should pay attention to their breast health.”
The teams have raised more than $4.3 million for the nonprofit Young Survival Coalition over the years, according to organizers. The move puts the game on closer footing with the Congressional Baseball Game, which is played at Nationals Park and sold upward of 31,000 tickets in June.
Wasserman Schultz remembers the earliest days of the event, when she approached former Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., and explained her idea. The pair decided that in contrast to the baseball game, which pits Republicans against Democrats, the women’s game should be bipartisan.
When the lawmakers first took the field in 2009, they were playing against staffers, which led to a rout by the younger aides. It wasn’t until 2010 that the tradition of elected officials versus ink-stained wretches took shape.
“We were like, ‘OK, well, this is not a formula for success, or one that people would be super interested in continuing, to see us just get killed,” said Wasserman Schultz. “So I said, ‘Hey, let’s play our common adversary, the press, the female press corps.’ And I went to Dana Bash at CNN, and I proposed that she put together a team. And she loved the idea, and that’s how the rivalry was born.”
Wednesday will mark the 15th time the two squads face off — the game was canceled in 2020 — and the press has won 10 out of 14 games so far. For a while, the winner was as much of a toss-up as a Georgia Senate race, but since 2016, the Bad News Babes have been ascendent, losing only in 2022.
The congressional team has some new talent this time out. While the Bad News Babes are for the most part running a repeat lineup, the lawmakers’ roster boasts eight rookies.
The first-timers include Sheri Biggs, R-S.C.; Maxine E. Dexter, D-Ore.; Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D.; Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H.; Julie Elizabeth Johnson, D-Texas; Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif.; Kimberlyn King-Hinds, R-N. Marianas; and Emily Randall, D-Wash.
Democrats make up the majority of the members’ roster, with 17 Dems and eight Republicans on the team. Wasserman Schultz and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., are the co-captains.
The Daily Mail’s Emily Goodin believes that friendly outings like this are important at a time when the relationship between the government and the Fourth Estate is under strain.
“What we all love about this game is that it feels like a community hometown softball game,” said Goodin, who co-captains the press team. “It’s like something you’d see on the fairgrounds back in your home state, and that’s always been the appeal for us, just that feeling of community and togetherness.”
Nevertheless, both sides said they like their odds for victory heading into the game.
“I am confident that we have some new, really good hitters, freshmen on both sides of the aisle, fantastic fielders with sharp skills,” said Wasserman Schultz. “The Babes better look out.”
The Bad News Babes don’t seem too worried.
“I’ll just say, we’re feeling very good about our chances,” said Goodin.
The move to Audi Field also comes with an increase in ticket costs. This year tickets are $12 for 100 level general admission and $20 for club level, plus additional fees for both. In the past, tickets for the event were a flat $10.
On Wednesday, gates will open at 5:30 p.m., programming will begin at 7 p.m. and first pitch is scheduled for 7:35 p.m.
The game will be broadcast by Monumental Sports Network, with a simulcast on both C-SPAN and FanDuel Sports Network.
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