The weekend was filled with skinned knees, grass stains and home runs as University sororities gathered to spend time together and raise money for charity.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity sponsored its 10th-annual softball tournament for the University’s 11 sororities yesterday, raising more than $10,000 for the American Cancer Society.
ACS is a community-based organization with chapters all over the country dedicated to helping cancer patients and their families.
Friday afternoon and all through the day Saturday, sororities wore their colors and competed against one another in the double-elimination tournament.
The weather was clear and sunny despite forecasts of thunderstorms, as members of Sigma Phi Epsilon coached the girls’ teams or cheered from the stands.
The fraternity canceled the annual event last April because of poor weather, and members said they were relieved.
“Last year, it rained, and we couldn’t have it,” said Hunter Hartwig, a mass communication freshman and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. “The weather was much better this year.”
Sorority members volunteered to play on teams, while their sisters supported them from the stands.
The tournament, which lasted through Saturday at the University Recreation softball fields, takes place every year for a different charity.
Hartwig said the chapter votes every year to decide what charity they hope to raise money for.
Kappa Kappa Gamma won the tournament, followed by Kappa Alpha Theta as the runner-up.
Stephen Orkus, a pre-education sophomore and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said each sorority paid a $100 entry fee to participate in the tournament.
In addition to sorority entry fees, Orkus said each member of the fraternity asked local Baton Rouge businesses to sponsor the event. Sponsors included BellSouth and Network 21.
New York Bagel Co., a restaurant on Lee Drive, promised to donate 10 percent of profits earned when Greeks ate there during the three days before the event, Orkus said.
Former high school softball player Kathryn Newell, a marketing junior and a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, participates in the event every year.
Newell said this year the prospect of raising money for the ACS encouraged her to play again.
“I’m very interested in our philanthropy,” Newell said. “It’s a very noble cause.”
Heather Goza, a mass communication freshman and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, said she also played softball in high school and had a lot of fun at the tournament.
“We won both our games,” Goza said. “This has been really fun.”
The ACS provides counseling and other services for cancer patients and survivors and organizes numerous fund-raisers for cancer research.
According to its Web site, www.cancer.org, the ACS strives to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by “preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.”