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Megin
Wardle didn’t plan to play kickball last Saturday. All she was going to
do was cheer for the West Town Banditos in the inaugural ArtLeague
Kickball Tournament.

"I
am so bad I would make you cry," said Wardle. But when the Banditos
needed another player, they called on Wardle, who played two games in a
blue cheerleading skirt.

Organized
by Caroline Picard, the volunteer coordinator at ThreeWalls gallery in
the West Loop, the tournament was originally intended to bring together
different neighborhoods with discrete art scenes.

"Everybody here has something to do with the arts," said Picard.

The
tournament kicked off exactly at 1:13 p.m., with the West Town Banditos
kicking against the Mullet Heads, who jumped to a quick lead in the
bottom of the first thanks to a three-run homer by abstract painter
Nevin Tomlinson and a grand slam by sound artist Philip Von Zweck.
Sadly, the Banditos couldn’t recover, eventually losing 9-1.

"We
had a bad first inning and that was it," said Elanor Leskiw, a
trombonist for the Astounding Punk Rock Circus marching band, of the
Banditos’ defeat. "We’re just hoping to walk away the biggest losers,"
added Leskiw’s teammate, Cynthia Castiglione.

Game
two was dominated by the Record Players, who outdistanced the Flying
Pigs 8-4, advancing to the championship round against the Mullet Heads.

"I
don’t see a challenge, honestly," said ThreeWalls Executive Director
Jonathan Rhodes of the Record Players after the game. The West Town
Banditos dominated the third-round game, but fell apart in the fourth
and fifth innings, eventually losing to the Flying Pigs 11-5.

"We just fell apart, basically," said Castiglione, and actress. "We’re proud being the biggest losers."

The
championship round started as a defensive battle. The Record Players
held the Mullet Heads scoreless through three innings until the bottom
of the fourth. The bottom of the fifth was the last chance for the
Mullet Heads. With one out, Brian Taylor, who was too hungover to make
the first game, singled. But line-outs by David Roman and Von Zweck
gave the Record Players the title.

"It
was a really good experience," said the Record Players’ Britton
Bertran, curator for Gallery 40000 in West Town, who said the secret to
the victory was "finesse and the play of one Mr. Jason Smith," who made
several impressive catches in the outfield.

Taylor thinks that next year, he’ll better prepare for the tournament so he doesn’t miss a game.

"I think instead of the beer and margaritas, I’ll just have a lot of vitamin water and coffee," Taylor said.

The Mullet Heads, despite the loss, seemed in good spirits after the game.

"We kept it in there," said Roman. "It’s fun. It’s the only time I’ll get a tan in the summer, right?"

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