WARREN Local clubs step up to plate with charity softball matchup

The game will be less competitive than in years past, a Rotarian said.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Recreation will be the name of the game when the Rotary and Kiwanis clubs of Warren duke it out in a charity softball match.
The two civic service organizations will go head-to-head at 6 p.m. Sept. 13 at Cafaro Field in Niles.
Hugh Anderson, Rotary's team manager, said fun will be stressed over competition this year, as more members are encouraged to participate.
Jean Forbes, Kiwanis president and director of the Rebecca Williams Community Center, said women in Kiwanis usually take to the bleachers while men take the field.
The game is open to everyone, but members say women have not played in recent years and some men have shied away because of the fierce competition.
"The men play a pretty aggressive softball game," Forbes said. "Last year, the women of our club had pom-poms."
She has said she believes her team will "trounce" the Rotarians.
Dinner: The two teams share a picnic dinner after the game each year and the loser makes a donation to a charity chosen by the winner.
Kiwanis were victorious last year.
"They got lucky," said Don Moore, a Rotarian who works for Trumco Insurance Agency.
The baseball enthusiast says he's not sure if he'll play this year because he's a Lakeview school board member and the high school is having an open house that night.
Anderson, who works out of his home for Marlowe Coffee Service, said games in the past have been brutal.
The former Rotary pitcher said his team will try a new strategy this year.
"We're going to out-talk them on and off the field," he said.
Dave Snyder, captain of this year's Kiwanis squad, said the team is gearing up to win again, and is in peak form.
Official's involvement: Mayor Hank Angelo is a Kiwanian and an honorary Rotarian.
He has played for Kiwanis and says there's definitely a spirited rivalry between the two sides.
The winning team walks away with a free dinner and a charitable donation in its name.
But that's not all, Angelo said. "Winners get bragging rights for the rest of the year."