By Sean Phifer ('10)

Like most O’Malley Cup events, the loser left the event disappointed. Unfortunately for the Class of 2011, this loss posed a larger threat to their O’Malley Cup dreams.

The softball event involved a controversial format put forth by O’Malley Cup Chair, Alex Vitanye ('10). There were two games contested between an A and B team from each class. An aggregate scoring system was used to determine a winner based off of the scores from both games.

“Is this the UEFA Champions League?” commented O’Malley Cup Director, Packy Moran ('07).

Vitanye stood by the format going into the games based on the difficulty in finding a fair match-up between the 32 members of the Class of 2010 against the 20 members of the Class of 2011.

The B Squad got things rolling for the Class of 2010. Led by pitcher Mike Rose ('10), the Competitors shut down the big bats of the Double Aces. They were paced at the plate by an under-the-weather Aaron Lewis ('10)(2 for 2, 3 RBIs) and Chance Jones ('10)(2 RBIs), who was playing in front of his newborn son, Sam, for the first time.

“It was a game we needed to win to set the stage, and there is no doubt that we did that,”Jones commented. “I’m just glad I didn’t swear when I skied that ball to Katie Tershel ('11), but she fortunately dropped it which led to a big play for us.”

The Competitors B squad ended with a convincing 8-2 victory.

The Competitors A Team didn’t take advantage of the momentum set by their B squad. Led by a few Web Gems from shortstop Sean Othen ('11), the Class of 2011 rattled the confident Class of 2010 early.

This carried over to the offense, where the first year’s bats came to life with four second inning runs. This was fueled by hits from Dan Hennessy ('11), Jose Duverge ('11), and Jessie Martin ('11). The Challengers didn’t help themselves defensively with two errors by pitcher Sean Phifer ('10).

However, the second years were able to salvage two runs in the fourth inning off a double from Ryan Holmes ('10) and single by the powerful Morgan Staley ('10). While the first years were able to add two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the win 6-2, it was not enough to match the aggregate score of the two games.

Despite the controversy, the Class of 2010 walked away proud and confident. Talk moved from a potential O’Malley Cup victory to an unprecedented O’Malley sweep.

“Its all part of the advantage of doing the O’Malley planning,” Vitanye defended. “I try to set up the fairest format possible knowing full well that someone will walk away upset. Its part of the game. We are up 3-0, and it's time to move on.”

The next O’Malley event will be the annual Thanksgiving Skits. That event is likely to lead to more disappointment.