FALL BALL

WASILLA — Temperatures in the evening are a bit more cool this time of year. There’s not as much daylight. Fishing rods are being swapped for hunting rifles. The summer clothes will soon swap places with the winter jackets that have been hanging in the back of the closet.

But even though the better part of August is done and gone, the Mat-Su Softball Association is helping local players hold on to one link to summer for a few weeks longer.

For the second straight year, MSSA is hosting a “Fall Ball” co-ed softball league.

“It’s a good idea, the season is too short anyway,” said Tony Craven, a 32-year-old Wasilla man who has been regularly hitting the softball diamond since he was 16.

The skies above Bumpus Ballfields — the complex MSSA calls home — were covered by clouds, and a soft drizzle greeted players from four teams Monday night before the fall league’s first pitch. But none of that seemed to bother Craven and his team, the MARC Marauders.

“It’s been that way all summer anyway,” Craven said.

Fall Ball was born last year when a MSSA co-ed B team wanted to travel out of state for a tourney, association executive director Chad Bostick said. The squad approached MSSA officials about hosting a short league at the end of the summer season to help generate revenue for the trip.

Ten teams signed up for the inaugural fall ball league, and the initial attempt was a success, Bostick said.

“It was such a hit that we actually had some folks show up at the league meeting and request (the fall league),” Bostick said.

As the MSSA made plans for the 2010 fall league, the association was going to cap the field at eight teams. But there was enough response to push the league to a dozen.

Now there’s 12 teams from four classes split into a four-week schedule, with games on the slate each Monday and Wednesday. Bostick said he’s surprised by the range of teams the league has drawn.

“A lot of folks toward the end are doing some hunting, wrapping up with the fishing. Typically it’s the die-hards out there doing the Fall Ball,” Bostick said. “We have a wide variety. Honestly, I’m a little shocked.”

There are a few rules in place to help even out the playing field a bit. Teams in lower classifications are spotted runs when playing an opponent from a higher class. For example, if an E league team takes on a D league squad, the E league team is granted four free runs. An E team will net six free runs against a C team.

Theresa Johnson plays for the Marauders, an E league team. She said the players on her squad know the Marauders could face some stiff competition during the four-week league. But that’s not keeping her team off the field.

“I like the league, I like the Valley softball association,” Johnson said.

Last year, the league scheduled fall games in three time slots, with the final contests starting at about 9:30 p.m. Bostick said they had to call some of the late games due to darkness, so this season there are just two scheduled time slots two days per week. But each team is guaranteed eight games during the fall league.

Bostick said co-ed participation continues to rise annually within the association, and this is just another chance to give players some extra time on the diamond. Bostick said he hopes the fall league becomes an annual MSSA tradition.

“As long as people are still wanting to play, we’ll be sure and step up so they’re able to do that,” Bostick said.