'Madness' Descends On Softball Fields

It was the dead of night, and there were bodies everywhere.

More than 50 teams from across the state descended on the Sebring Sports Complex over the weekend for the inaugural "Midnight Madness" softball tournament, which opened up Saturday morning and ran 'round-the-clock until Sunday afternoon.

And although catching fly balls and line drives were paramount on the field, catching a few Z's became key for the hundreds of players who made the complex home for the night.

"We had people sleeping all over the park," said Frankie Culbreth, National Softball Association-Florida's west coast director and "Midnight Madness" tournament co-director. "In the bleachers, on the grass, in the parking lot -- there were bodies all over the place."

NSA-Florida West Coast Umpire-in-Chief Robert Scott said he was surprised to see the level of play rise during the wee hours of the morning as temperatures cooled and a light breeze blew across the diamonds. He noted that teams in the winners' bracket had more time between games, giving them the advantage of having a few hours to rest.

"Some folks needed to catch that second wind," he said. "But there were plenty of players who made it all the way until the sun came up."

Four different tournaments ran simultaneously as the hours wore on and the moonlight gave way to daybreak, with co-ed teams, a one-pitch tourney and two separate mens' divisions taking to the dirt.
Many of the participants were playing on the fields for the first time, and according to Scott, the reviews for the state-of-the-art complex were overwhelmingly positive.

"It's a softballer's delight," said Scott, who noted he'd been awake for 30 hours as of early Sunday afternoon. "Everything, from the staff to the facility itself, was top-notch. From my standpoint, I can honestly say, we'll be back."

Such reviews were music to the ears of Rocky Ellingsworth, Sebring sports complex manager. He said the tournament was the biggest event the complex has hosted thus far, and it was a delight to see his parking lot "slammed full" of cars, trucks, RVs and motor homes throughout the night.

"At one time, building this complex was a political hot-spot," said Ellingsworth about the multi-million dollar, multi-field facility. "There were a lot of people around saying we didn't need it. Well, there were 50 teams here last night who'd say we did."

The complex, which Ellingsworth said hosts about two events per month, will next host a youth softball tournament beginning Oct. 27.