The team sponsored by Johnny G's won the 2011 Championship. Members of that team included (front row, left to right) Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Servitto; 45A District Court Judge James Wittenberg; Assistant Prosecutor Molly Zappitell; Prosecutor Eric Smith; law student Dan DeBruin and attorney Matt Wilk; along with (standing left to right) attorney Tony Servitto; Macomb County Prosecutor Investigator Bob Chuchran; Assistant Prosecutors Josh Abbott, Derek Miller, Jeff Hall, Gordon Hosbein and Emil Semaan; Circuit Judge James M. Biernat, Jr.; attorney Todd Schill; and Prosecutor Investigator Terry A. Bogusz.
Photo provided by Chuck Trickey
By Melanie Deeds
Legal News
There’s really no bragging going on but, when you walk into the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office these days, a trophy is on full display.
“It’s right there in the lobby,” said Prosecutor Eric Smith, whose team notched up a perfect record this past summer in capturing the title of the Mt. Clemens Lawyers Softball League. “You can’t miss it.”
It was the first league title for Smith’s team, composed of assistant prosecutors and investigators from his office, a judge, some law students and other area attorneys. The team was sponsored by the Mt. Clemens bar Johnny G’s.
With the team’s 6-0 first place finish, it was the first seed in the playoffs.
The Prosecutors beat the Wayne State Law Student/Young Lawyers team in first-round action, then defeated by an 8-5 score the squad led by Charles Trickey and Nate Edmonds, which won the title during last year’s inaugural season.
The league expanded from four to six teams this year. Players include judges, lawyers, law school graduates and law school students.
The six-week season began in June, ending with a two-night championship series in August, with a party at the league sponsor, Madison’s Pub. All games were played at Memorial Fields in Mt. Clemens.
Trickey, a Mt. Clemens attorney and league co-commissioner along with Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski, noted that each team is sponsored by a Mt. Clemens establishment.
After each night of play, he said, the league as a whole visits a designated sponsor for post game pizza and beverages.
“The post game events have become an important part of the league experience, drawing over 50 players each week,” he said.
The league sponsor, Madison’s Pub, purchased the trophy which, in the fashion of the Stanley Cup, lists the name of each player on the championship team, Trickey said.
The other five teams, in order of their final standing positions, were: Orleans Billiards Cafe (4-2), led by Trickey and Nate Edmonds; Bath City Bistro (4-2), led by Switalski and 39th District Court Judge Joseph Boedeker; Gus’ Coney Island (2-3-1), led by Doug Hamel and Erich Goetz; the Cooley Law School team (1-4-1) was sponsored by Fritt’s Pub and The Rec Bowl (0-6) sponsored a team comprised of the Young Lawyers section of the Macomb Bar Association and Wayne State University.
Trickey said umpires were drawn from the legal community, with Macomb Circuit Judge Peter J. Maceroni, Wayne County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Richard Hathaway, attorney Daniel Rhodes, attorney George Birch and Macomb County Bar Association Executive Director Rick Troy calling games.
The just-completed season was marked by the return of several attorneys who were veterans of the Lawyers Softball League that once flourished at Softball City, then Kyte-Monroe Fields in St. Clair Shores and finally in Oak Park, according to Trickey.
Trickey said he and Switalski are encouraging more of the seasoned attorneys to consider a return to Lawyers League softball. They extend a welcome as well to any new attorneys or law students.
Those interested in joining the league for the 2012 season can contact Switalski at 586.469.5135 or Trickey at 586.465.8203.
The real value of participating in the league, according to Smith, had more to do with aspects other than softball.
For those on his championship-winning team, he said it was “a chance to have some fun and do something to bring everybody in the office a little closer together.”
It’s also an opportunity, Smith said, for many who find themselves on opposing sides “to set all that aside, get together and have some fun.”
As for the unbeaten record, Smith said his team “just happened to get lucky.”
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