Shaina's Challenge is a special weekend

Fastpitch softball is a bit of a tradition in Havre. This past weekend, at the Sixth Avenue Memorial Field, some of the greatest softball players in Montana returned home and got together in honor of Shaina Evans at the Third Annual Shaina's Challenge International Men's Fastpitch tournament.

As it was during the previous two times it was held in Havre over the past two years, the tournament was a resounding success.

It featured seven teams that battled it out over the course of three days despite sweltering temperatures to determine a champion and remember Evans, who was an avid softball player and played collegiate volleyball for Montana State University-Northern.

Yet, as much as Shaina's Challenge is about a fun competition that showcases a number of great softball players and all-around athletes, the tournament, which is run by Dan Wirtzberger, who was formerly the head coach of the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team and the Havre High softball team, is also about giving back. The three-day event serves as a fundraiser for the Shaina Evans Memorial Scholarship and the Havre Girls Fastpitch Softball Association.

With all the former Havre High greats and tremendous softball players on hand, it would be hard for the tournament not to be a resounding success.

Of course, Gary Evans, the father of Shania, is always fun to watch as he's one of the great pitchers anyone from these parts has ever seen and any time he takes the mound, it's a must-see event. And, as usual, the Gallery Lounge, the team Evans pitches for, found itself in the championship game.

In the end, Evans and the rest of the Gallery Lounge team, which consisted of Cal Wirtzberger, Rusty Evans, Tony Vigliotti, Bucky Lindstrand, Bo Evans, Bob Evans, Brady Kimball, Doug Vandolah, Donny Meirhoff, Dave Hergeshimer, Lunar Evans and Jake Meirhoff, were victorious in the championship game by a score of 8-1. And as he always seems to be, Gary Evans was on the top of his game and turned in an outstanding performance on the bump. He allowed one run in the top of the first inning, then followed that up by throwing seven scoreless innings to bring home the title.

The Gallery, which defeated Valley Furniture, a team that also featured a number of talented players such as Billy Evans, Ricky Brown, Ed Boucher, Sean Mariani, Shane Kemmer, Dan Danielson, Marshall Cartwright, Brett Patrick, Ryan Callahan and Rob Watson.

But, while the softball was fun to watch, Shaina's Challenge is about much, much more than that. To be honest, I didn't have the pleasure of knowing Shaina. I didn't live in Havre when she attended MSU-Northern, so I may not have the same personal connection to the event as most others who attended, but that doesn't mean I couldn't still feel her presence at the ball field, and the love that all the players and their families share for her.

It's hard to miss when you see her number on the back of every jersey, with her name inscribed within the numbers over and over again. It serves as a reminder that while Shaina's Challenge is a softball tournament, it feels more like the get-together of an intimate family.

There were people there who I knew and one's who I didn't. But regardless of where the players and their families were born, traveled from or currently live, they were all brought together for one thing: their unwavering support of Shaina Evans. And in the world we live in today, where we fight through so many petty differences, it's great to see things uniting people instead of dividing them.

Sports often serve as a distraction or a way to forget about the difficult things in life. But this tournament doesn't distract people, it helps them remember and celebrate someone who was dear to their hearts. And that's why, even though this is just the third year of Shaina's Challenge, I think it's safe to say, many more will be on the horizon.