Umpires Pay Their Way - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Umpires Pay Their Way

The Mcquade's softball tournament is the largest charity softball tournament in the country.

With 480 softball teams--there is a wide variety of team uniforms and sponsors.

Tonight we focus on the blue.

Jon Schaeffer shows us why one umpire... stays in the game.

The Mcquade's softball brings people from all over out for a good time and that includes the people calling balls and strikes.

(Ben Birkemeyer/ Slow pitch Umpire) "I'm from Minneapolis, Minnesota. I originally grew up in northern Minnesota and than move out to Bismarck for college so I knew about Mcquade's and had an opportunity to get involved a few years ago." So Ben jumped right in. and "I just kept coming back cuz it's a lot of fun." Ben hasn't swung a softball bat competitively in awhile--yet still manages to enjoy the game he once played. "started doing it when I quit playing and I've liked it since so hopefully I can keep with it for awhile." With a four man umpiring crew--sometimes these guys end up working with people they've never met before. For the boys in blue at the tournament its not about the money. "All the umpires he gets from all kinds of states 10 or more hours of drive time for a lot of em so it's a lot of time and a lot of money to come up that way." Being in it for the good time is what they are all about and while it is just a game sometimes things get heated. "You just have to learn to deal with it and don't worry about it really I mean some guys are just gonna say what they wanna say and you have to be kinda tough about it." From the coin flip to decide who's home and away to the final handshake-- umpires keep it professional while calling the sport they enjoy. From Mcquade's Softball I'm Jon Schaeffer KXNEWS.

The umpires and players will head home after the last games of the tournament--Sunday afternoon.