Republicans crush Dems in congressional baseball game

Amid intense partisan squabbling in the lower chamber, Republicans scored at least one victory over their Democratic rivals this week when the party's baseball team trounced that of the Democrats in a congressional baseball game.

The GOP took the contest 16-6, marking the third straight year that the Republicans have claimed the victory, The Hill reported. 

The game traditionally runs a mere seven innings instead of the standard nine. A charity event, this year the game raised at least $1.5 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the Washington Nationals Philanthropies, and the Washington Literacy Center.

20,000 spectators turned up at Nationals Park on Wednesday to watch the lawmakers duke it out. The game has been played, with some interruptions, since 1909.

Typically a lighthearted undertaking, the game took on a somber tone in 2017 after a gunman opened fire at a Republican practice, inflicting several injuries on now-House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Scalise reflected on that event, saying "Well, the first is that God was on that ball field. I mean, true real miracles were performed."

"I wrote a book documenting some of those in the book, ‘Back in the Game,’ talking about the heroes that were on the field that day," he continued. "Capitol Police who saved me David Bailey and Crystal Griner, [Congressman] Wenstrup – who's here today, who's a medical surgeon and also a Member of Congress – helped me stay alive, just so I could barely make it to the hospital, but God performed miracles that day. Not just for me, but there were over a dozen other Members of Congress that could have not made it that day."

"You know, you fight on the Capitol for the things we believe in. We have big differences in our country, but at the same time we do come together for a really good cause tonight," he added.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.