Saturday, March 15

In the end, the only really important number from Friday’s annual Rays and Twins Families Charity Softball Game was $10,000 -- the amount contributed by the two clubs’ foundations to hurricane relief in Southwest Florida. But you can be sure, it’s not the only number the players cared about.

The Rays team beat the Twins team, 14-11, in an hour-long game that took place on the field at Charlotte Sports Park after the two big league teams played a Grapefruit League game on the same diamond. Each club was represented by wives and girlfriends of players, and Tampa Bay won for the third time in five meetings.

It was fun, to be sure. And the cause is a good one, with the donation going to the United Way Suncoast. But it wasn’t just for fun, especially with former star college softball players on both sides. The teams practice leading up to the annual contest, and there’s a trophy that’s now in the hands of the Rays families. And the players go all out.

“It’s always so much fun,” said Madison Lowe, wife of Rays infielder Brandon Lowe. “Every year it gets a little bit harder to get out of bed the next morning. I can definitely tell I’m getting a little bit older, but it’s always so much fun to put my glove on again and get to take a few swings.”

Madison Lowe homered three times in the victory, impressive but not necessarily surprising since she starred as a college player at the University of Maryland. She’s well known among both teams as one of the best players in the contest annually.

“Raising the bar in the household a little bit, for sure,” said Brandon Lowe. “It's always fun to see. Everyone's got these lofty expectations of what she's supposed to do and [says] she's the ringer of the team, and she really proved it.”

It’s not just former softball players who show out, either. Brooks Lee’s girlfriend, Delanie Dunkle, looked slick in the infield. She played college tennis, not softball, and Lee quipped that he’s “a pretty good coach."

“They get to do something for themselves out here,” Lee said. “It’s not just all us, and we enjoy it, too. It’s important to have [them] included and to have their own thing going on.”

It’s a fun but somewhat difficult experience for the baseball players, who are not used to being in the position their partners so often are -- anxious and completely unable to do anything about it.

“I’m getting nervous watching her from the other side, as opposed to how it usually is,” said Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach, whose wife, Jessica, played softball at Oregon State -- and homered in the defeat.

“You want to see her do good and the team do good. Usually, I’m not in the seats watching. I’m usually playing. And it’s almost like I got more nervous for her than I do playing.”

His teammate, Byron Buxton, did get to play a part in the game, coaching first base while his wife, Lindsey, played. That made for an extra fun day for the Buxton family.

“It’s a super cool dynamic,” said Lindsey Buxton. “Even for our kids, they’re used to saying, ‘Go dad,’ so for me to be playing and him to be coaching, it’s really different, but a lot of fun.”

Rosters for the second annual Spring Breakout event were announced on Thursday. Injuries unfortunately sideline the Twins’ top two prospects, but the club will still send a number of intriguing hitters to face the Blue Jays in Dunedin on Saturday.

The list includes No. 3 (and overall No. 60) prospect Luke Keaschall, who homered on Saturday in his second straight Grapefruit League start as DH, No. 7 prospect Brandon Winokur, fast rising No. 15 prospect Rayne Doncon, and former Top 100 prospect No. 18 Gabriel Gonzalez. See the full roster here.

I’ve spent a lot of time on the highways of Southwest Florida this week, so here are five of my favorite songs to play while eating up highway miles.

The Chemical Brothers, “No Geography”

Bob Seger, “Travelin’ Man/Beautiful Loser”

Freddie King, “Going Down”

Hum, “Stars”

The Four Horsemen, “Tired Wings”

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