Breanna Wong pitches for Meridian against Prospect at the Prospect Boys and Girls Club last summer. Slow-pitch softball in Butler County attracts thousands of players every year.

Slow-pitch softball in Butler County has many facets.

There are slow-pitch adult leagues; some are gender specific while others are co-ed.

There are senior leagues and traveling teams for the entire spectrum of youths, adults and seniors.

There are even charitable tournaments that raise money for groups or needy families.

There's a little flavor for everyone.

Youth and adult leaguesAlmost every community throughout the county has some youth-oriented summer recreational slow-pitch softball program. Many communities, such as Cranberry Township, have adult softball summer recreational leagues.The Cranberry Township Athletic Association is one of the bigger organizations in the county with more than 1,500 youth members. Of those, more than 450 participate in the group's softball programs.Three years ago, the group also started an adult slow-pitch league, which has about 200 adults, according to association president Dan Porter.The girls slow-pitch leagues begin to practice the first of April, and begin their season in early May. The season, Porter said, culminates with the championship games during the Cranberry Township Community Day celebration on the Fourth of July. There are also traveling programs for both baseball and softball players.The Mars Area Girls Softball league is a slow-pitch softball league for girls ages 5 through 18. According to the league's Web site, it "strives to instill in the girls a healthy, competitive spirit and to teach them to win, lose and play gracefully."The league continues to grow and has 19 teams.Other communities throughout the county have youth and adult softball programs.

Seniors playing softballDave McMaster of Saxonburg has been playing softball for much of his life. He began playing in senior leagues in 1995, first beginning in a 50-over league in the North Hills.Senior leagues are divided into a number of age groups, including 65 and over, 50 to 55, 55 to 60, 60 to 65, 65 to 70 and over 75 years old."These guys are still playing at a relatively high level for their ages," said McMaster.He has participated on a number of successful senior teams, participating on six World Championship teams, most of which were with the HMR 55's.The HMR 55's, named after McMaster's manufacturing company, which sponsors the team, competed in the age 55-and-over division.In 1994, the squad won the Senior Slow-Pitch Softball World Championships in Las Vegas by winning 10 of 11 games in a four-day, double-elimination tournament.

Amateur Softball AssociationMany county leagues, including the Cranberry association, follow the guidelines of the Amateur Softball Association, the U.S. national governing body for softball by the U.S. Olympic Committee.The ASA has many responsibilities, including regulating competition to ensure fairness and equal opportunity to the millions of player who annually play the sport.The ASA has more than 250,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 4 million.According to the ASA's Web site, its adult program has served as the backbone of the association since its beginning in 1934.With more than 170,000 teams, 2.5 millions players and 500,000 coaches involved on an annual basis, the adult program is the largest program in the Amateur Softball Association.

Softball for charityThe Cranberry Township Charity Softball Tournament began in 2000. The idea developed at a homeowner's association meeting when residents were trying to come up with fun things to do for their own neighborhood.Cathy Cortazzo, founder and president of the Cranberry Cup board, wanted a way to bring community members together and raise money for families in need.In 2001, the founders decided to raise money for an individual or family in need from the immediate area.In its inaugural year, about $3,800 was raised for the American Cancer Society — and the tradition was born.Since then, the grassroots charity tournament has raised thousands of dollars and helped a number of families dealing with illness and personal strife.The 2007 fundraising events are Aug. 3 to 5 for the golf outing and softball tournament. This year's recipients will be announced soon.By 2003, 30 neighborhood teams competed for the Cranberry Cup, and 12 agencies competed in their own mini-tournament.The 2003 tournament was another successful event and the community raised $40,000 for 13-year-old girl, Kayla Sansone, who was battling cancer. Kayla died three months after the tournament.In 2004, 36 neighborhoods and 12 business teams competed for the Cranberry Cup and to raise money for Alex Poust. Alex was 15 years old, battled brain cancer twice, lost his father to a heart attack, and was in need of a bone-marrow transplant. The tournament raised more than $55,000 for Alex and his family.Alex died on Dec. 3, 2004, before he was well enough to travel for treatments.In 2005, the weekend was expanded to include the now-annual golf classic at Cranberry Highlands Golf Course. The softball tournament was played the next day with 36 neighborhoods and 12 business teams.The community rallied around its beneficiaries — 7-year-old Isabella Christenson and 9-year-old Dakota Dore, raising $75,000 in donations and sponsorships.Last year, the Cranberry Cup raised more $140,000. The group was able to buy a new home for the Maybee family and also to help four other families.In addition, the group was able to help three families over the Christmas holidays, buying coats, boots, comforters and other items to keep them warm, said Cortazzo.

If you're interested in a sport, you can contact this national organization for <B>Information:</B><B>Softball</B><B>Name: </B>Amateur Softball Association of America, Pennsylvania<B>Address: </B>3955 Columbia Ave, Columbia, PA 17512<B>Phone:</B> 717-285-2050<B>FAX:</B> 717-285-2050<B>E-mail: </B>asapaoff@earthlink.net<B>Web: </B>www.softball.org