Margaretta's Hastings suits up for Guardians softball team

Brooke Hastings can say she played for the Guardians this summer. The Margaretta rising junior participated on the Cleveland Guardians Nike 18U RBI softball team. The program was started by Major League Baseball to promote baseball and softball in cities and all costs are covered by Cleveland Guardians Charities. All of the players on the team were from the Cleveland area. Hastings, an All-Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division second team catcher last spring, also played travel ball for the T3 Mavericks this summer. She said the Guardians team was more low key. The RBI acronym stands for Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities. "For someone who was thinking about not playing travel ball next year, it saved my passion and love for the sport," Hastings said. Hastings heard about the Guardians team from a Mavericks teammate and decided to try out. She went through some workouts at the Jim Thome All-Star Complex at Brookside Park in mid-June and was invited to join the squad. "The coaching experience was very helpful," Hastings said. "They were very positive and there were a lot of unique drills." Hastings and her team held a photo day at Progressive Field on June 16. "They had us under the stadium and we went into a room and took some pictures," she said. "Then we went into the visitors dugout and took pictures on the field. "They would not let us on the grass. We had to go on a tarp to get on the field, except the outfielders. They got to go on the grass." The team wore uniforms nearly identical to what the Guardians wear. "They were a little big; they were men's sizes," Hastings said. "They were good jerseys, though. We didn't get to keep them." Hastings' team also attended a Guardians game and their season ended at a regional tournament last week in Pittsburgh. The team took a charter bus to the Steel City and stayed at a hotel. The Guardians team went 1-3 against Nike RBI teams from other major league cities. The playing portion of the season is over, but Hastings and her teammates will do some volunteer work in Cleveland. Hastings is helping spread the word about the team and could be joined by more local players next year. "It was a lot of fun," she said. "There was a lot of laughter. I enjoyed it very much."