By Dominic Scianna
There are several things synonymous with the City of Chicago – deep dish pizza, Portillo’s hot dogs, The Bean, Michigan Avenue’s One Magnificent Mile shopping district, and the Downtown Lakefront Skyline’s panoramic view from Lake Shore Drive – just to name a few.
And when one thinks of sports, the diehard fans of Chicago love their professional sports teams – and a game that originated in the Midwest in the City and throughout Illinois aptly named 16-inch softball. The game is played by men and women, young and old,
Matt Murphy, 31, Payton College Prep’s 16’ inch softball coach is one of those players who caught the bug and love for the game in his teen years and is still playing two nights a week in the off-season in an adult league at Hamlin Park.
Not surprisingly, Murphy lobbied for that Chicago Park District site when CPS Athletic Program Administrator, Eddie Curry, 16’ Inch softball coordinator was looking for a new venue to host the Chicago Public League (CPL) Championships. It was an easy sell for the CPL coaches to approve because most understand the origin of the game and what it means to the culture of sports in the City. So, it was a natural fit plus the Hamilin fields had lights to accommodate a tripleheader of games on Championship Saturday night, October 5.
The lights shined brightest on Payton as the CPL title game convened with the Grizzlies winning 7-6 in walk-off fashion to edge runner-up Taft to capture the 2024 CPL High School Varsity Championship.
“It was super exciting to have a student section, alumni and families, parents, and neighborhood community members at Hamlin Park for the finals,” said Murphy, who notched his fourth championship as manager (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2024).
And this for a team that didn’t even make the playoffs a year ago. So, Payton was on a mission in 2024 and the championship game lived up to the hype.
The first inning may have been a precursor to the final result, as Payton and starting pitcher Tyler Field got out of a bases-loaded jam with only one out and Taft’s best hitters unable to deliver the first runs of the game. The Eagles responded and surged to a 4-3 lead midway through the contest, then scored two runs to break a 4-4 tie in the top of the 7th.
That’s when the momentum shifted in favor of the Grizzlies and a talented crop of Payton stalwarts, led by Anthony Arena (short-center), Grant Gugino (shortstop), Augie Ruf (senior), and Field (junior) who all took things into their own hands (literally) and with their mighty bats as catalysts for the Grizzlies come-from-behind victory scoring three runs in the bottom of the 7th.
“Grant had three or four game-saving plays in the field and Tyler’s as dynamic a pitcher as there is in the CPL,” noted Murphy. “But the comeback started with Augie and Tyler stringing together two singles and Anthony’s big bat that tied the score at 6-6 with a two-RBI triple to set the stage for the winning run to score.”
Enter Jarek Diaz, a sophomore and unsung hero, who would come to bat with the bases loaded (after Taft intentionally walked two batters) to set their defense up for a play at the plate. Diaz had a great at-bat and coaxed an unusual walk off – base on balls – to send the Payton bench into a frenzy with an on-field dog-pile celebration as the final and winning run crossed the plate.
“Just a crazy game but I knew we had a good chance as we kept finding ways to battle back,” admitted Murphy, in avenging the team’s only loss to Taft after falling to the Eagles in the regular season.
As for the Eagles, they are a perennial power along with Lane Tech (the 2023 champion) historically in CPL 16-inch softball. Of late, Taft has been in the title game for the past six consecutive seasons, which is a monumental feat in and of itself.
“To be the best you have to beat the best, and Taft has been that consistent team (the past few years) and it’s a credit to their program, so we knew who we were going up against. It wasn’t going to be easy by any measure in playing them again,” acknowledged Murphy. “They’re a very well coached team (under manager Tom Angsten) and we had to try and contain some of their big hitters on offense – and we were able to do that.”
What doesn’t show up on the score sheet which Murphy credits is an advanced scouting report from his best friend Patrick O’Connell, a Lane Tech alumnus, and three-time CPL 16-inch champion in his own right as a player back in the mid-2000s.
O’Connell voluntarily did his diligence in offering to scout for Murphy and that spot on report helped strategize a championship game plan of attack.
And, Murphy is happy to report, O’Connell will be brought on next year as a permanent assistant coach. Plus, Murphy gives credit to senior Augie Ruf, current softball player, who doubled as lead in recruiting new players for the team whose roster numbers had been dwindling in recent years as a key to Payton’s success.
Murphy also knows the importance of having experienced coaches around him during his high school career. He credits former Payton 16’ inch coaches Ryan Sechrest and Valerie Gemskie with giving him the chance to cut his coaching teeth under their mentorship. And it was Gemskie, who Murphy admits, “is the reason I’m coaching today.”
This championship event, without a doubt, mirrors the cultures and traditions that the City embodies by taking it to the Parks of Chicago. What a better way to honor the tradition of 16-inch softball and where it all began.
“You couldn’t have asked for a better night (of championship games) for 16-inch softball and the Chicago Public League as a whole,” added Murphy.
Photos by Joey Gelman/OSA
