Bragging rights returned to the LMC Giants last Friday when the bi-annual faculty-staff softball rivalry as the team defeated the LMC A’s 26-19.

It was a perfect day for softball, as dozens of faculty, staff and students came out to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and either play in or watch the game.

Staff ranging from buildings and grounds to IT to the Math Department all came out to engage in some light-hearted trash talk and friendly competition.

“It’s a great mix of people,” said Bob Estrada, bookstore manager and designated Giants captain, adding that the game gives “the opportunity for staff to interact who normally wouldn’t.”

The bi-annual event has become more popular and competitive in recent years as the staff members divide themselves by their preferential Bay Area ball club, either the Giants or A’s. This system provides for team loyalties and makes the event more competitive, as teams “fight for bragging rights” until the next staff game, explained Estrada.

A’s captain and computer and network service specialist Elaine Ortiz agreed that the game makes campus life more entertaining. “The games give us great morale as a staff,” said Ortiz, “It’s just nice to get out and do something different.”

The game started after a staff luncheon around 1:30 p.m., and a mood of light-heartedness quickly filled the air. Staff and students mingled and joked around good naturedly, as they organized themselves for the game, one A’s staff member even quipping, “Giants’ players don’t get gloves.”

The seven innings were filled with big hits and even bigger laughs, as the A’s held on to a sizable lead for most of the game until the Giants came back to take a seven run lead for the win. The game was filled with many home runs, errors, and staff members making cracks about each other.

A notable play of the game came in the third, when tech and service staff member Rashaad McAlpin cracked the ball over the softball field fence, almost reaching pavement, to hit a grand slam and help the A’s to an early 9-1 lead.

After the loss, McAlpin joked, “It was a good game…and we’re all champions, but I hit a grand slam.”

In the end, it came down to a surge in Giants’ hits and collapse in A’s defense, that allowed the Giants to come back and eventually win the game.

“We made good hits,” explained Ortiz, after the game. “But we had trouble and were benevolent on defense.”

Despite the result, both Estrada and Ortiz applauded the “good fan support” of the spectators. Throughout the game the crowd interacted playfully with the players, as staff members called back and forth to each other from on and off the field.

LMC President Bob Kratochvil even stopped by to watch the end of the game and offer some key game advice to his staff.

Students who came out to watch the game were allowed a rare chance to see LMC staff in a different environment.

“It’s always funny to watch the staff let loose,” said student Penelope Challenor, who came out to watch the game and support the staff for her second faculty game.

“You get to see a different side of them,” said Chanllenor.

Bragging rights go back up for grabs next fall, when the next LMC staff softball game will take place sometime in the fall semester.