Apr. 7, 2010

By Lisa Kestenbaum Daily Journal Staff Writer Legal professionals had a field day at the Mexican American Bar Association’s 2nd annual Softball Tournament on Saturday March 27. The event took place at Whittier Narrows Regional Park in South El Monte and drew a crowd of more than 300 people, some of which came to play ball, others to cheer one of the various teams. “What makes this tournament so special in my opinion is that we had such a diverse group of lawyers that came out to support MABA,” said Softball Tournament Chair Guillermo Santiso. Teams included the Whistleblowers from the Los Angeles County Alternative Public Defenders Office; Latino Public Defenders Association; Latino Prosecutors Association All Stars; The Benchwarmers, L.A. County Superior Court Judges; non profit group Latino Comp; the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association; “Los Petroleros” from Moreno and Perez; Sedgwick Supremos from Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold; Felipe’s Warriors, a group comprised of law students from various Los Angeles schools; Harmless Error from Hadsell, Stormer, Keeny, Richardson & Renick; Moreno, Becerra & Casillas; and MABA, pictured right. The championship game pitted the Whistleblowers from Hadsell, Stormer against Harmless Error, from the L.A. County Alternative Public Defenders Office. “The game was great for the first four innings because when Harmless Error would score runs in the top of their inning, the Whistleblowers would come back to tie the game in the bottom portion of their inning,” Santiso said. “Finally in the fourth inning, the Whistleblowers broke open the game with several back to back extra base hits.” The Whistleblowers’ real break came in the fifth inning, when they scored 14 runs, leading them to a 27-7 victory. The Whistleblowers will be able to display the three-foot-tall MABA Annual Softball Tournament Trophy, which lists the tournament winners, in their office until next year’s competition. The tournament’s inaugural champions were the Latino Prosecutor Association All Stars. “Another nail biter was when the judges team, the Benchwarmers, played against Sedgwick. This game also went back and forth, with the judges winning the game and leaving the visiting team on the field when they scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning,” said Santiso. Missing the playoffs by only a few runs, the MABA team ended the tournament with a record of 2-1. While the total amount is still being calculated, money raised at the tournament will allow MABA to host and sponsor numerous law student events throughout the year and allow free admission to most every event, explained MABA President Judy Perez. The tournament lasted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and included lunch for all players, guests and spectators.