This browser does not support the Video element.
Happy Minnesota ending guaranteed for Wheelchair World Series
Minnesota is hosting the Wheelchair Softball World Series at Mall of America and at least one Minnesota player will walk away with a win. FOX 9'S Corin Hoggard has the story.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota is playing host to this year’s Wheelchair Softball World Series, and it’s already guaranteed to have a happy ending for at least one local player.
Pumped up competition
Same athleticism:
The competition starts with an assembly and some time to get pumped up.
By the time the players hit the field, they have a crowd of fans just like any other softball stars.
"It's the same sport," said Wheelchair World Series Tournament Director Jeff Downes. "It's the same athleticism, it's the same athletic mindset. It's just played a little bit different out in the parking lot instead of out on sand and grass."
On the five fields built in the Mall of America north parking lot, the Minnesota Twins are World Series favorites.
Underdog legend
Throwing fire:
The other Minnesota team, the Flamethrowers, is an underdog in this field of 18 from across the country.
But like a lot of underdogs, they have a legendary story.
David Richardson, 41, has a degenerative hip disease that’s impacted his walking since he was 13. He doesn’t use a wheelchair in his daily life, but a friend’s father saw his unusual gait and recruited him to play.
"I thought, 'I don't really want to be part of that,'" he said.
They had to sort of force him to come to his first practice and from there, he was hooked.
"As soon as I came out and saw how competitive everyone is, like, it brought me right back to when I was 13, playing able-bodied sports," he said. "And, you know, so you get that fire, that adrenaline back in you."
Twenty years later, Richardson has traveled the country for tournaments and World Series, and played for Team USA in Japan.
Softball adapted
Contact sport?:
On Thursday, he helped the Flamethrowers get off to an early lead with a big hit and some fast moves on the basepaths, leading to a collision at second base.
"I'm a big boy so I just use my size a little bit," Richardson said.
Wheelchair softball can be a contact sport, but it mostly plays just like softball.
The ball is a little bigger and softer and the bases are a bit bigger.
Players are classified by their level of functionality. And lineups are limited based on those classifications.
Championship play
Exciting journey:
In their first game Thursday, the Flamethrowers gave up the tying run in the seventh and lost in extra innings.
The Twins are the reigning champs and they lit up the scoreboard in their first game, so they're expected in the championship game Saturday.
The series also includes an able-bodied game on Friday, so everybody can see that the game is not that easy.
Festivities wrap up with a Hall of Fame induction for a couple players, including Richardson, who never expected to be here.
"I look at it as just a journey, blessed to be on it," he said.
And he hopes it rolls on for another 20 years.