Team Congress didn’t let a fourth-inning rain cancellation dampen their excitement about a 5-3 lead over the Bad News Babes in Wednesday night’s Congressional Women’s Softball Game.
“We are so excited and, you know, we obviously would have loved to continue playing and beat the press by even more,” Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) said. “I think it’s pretty clear we would have continued the pounding this year.”
Mica Soellner, congressional reporter for Punchbowl News, lamented a missed opportunity for the media team.
“You know it’s disappointing with the weather, but overall, it was a pretty good game,” she said. “We definitely could have made a comeback.”
The 17th annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game pit members of Congress against D.C. journalists to raise funds for the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). The YSC is dedicated to helping young women affected by breast cancer by providing resources and support.
Diedra Burns, a breast cancer survivor who is now in remission, was represented on the field by Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas).
“Wow, it means a lot because I went through my journey last year, diagnosis, chemo, radiation,” she said. “This has been a great week.”
The game raised more than $650,000 for the coalition. Since 2009, the event has raised more than $4.3 million for the YSC.
“It really is an opportunity for us to highlight the Young Survival Coalition,” Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) said. “I have a friend who experienced the very thing, and so, for me, it’s a bit personal. It’s a fun night.”
At the beginning of the game, the organizers paid tribute to former Rep. Mia Love (Utah), the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, who died from brain cancer in March. Her son and daughter received the Hall of Fame award on her behalf as a former member of Team Congress.
The lawmakers faced off against their media foes for the first time at Audi Field, a significant upgrade from the elementary schools where it was hosted years prior.
“It’s so exciting that we’re at Audi Field this year,” said Bridget Bowman, political reporter at NBC. “I’ve seen the game grow a lot since I first started playing almost 10 years ago.”
The enthusiastic crowd was clearly skewed toward Team Congress, which had not claimed victory since 2022.
At first, it was a tight game. In the second inning, the score was 2-1 for Team Congress. Then, Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) drove in two runs to bring the score 4-1.
By the end of the third inning, Team Congress had widened their lead to 5-1. The Bad News Babes struck back with two runs in the fourth inning. But Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) put a stop to their surge with spectacular defense, and the game was canceled before the media players could do any more damage.
This year, the game featured 24 congresswomen from both sides of the aisle and had 14 different media outlets represented on the field.
“Playing against the members is a great experience because we’re often talking to them about serious, heavy, complicated things,” said Jen Bendery, senior politics reporter for HuffPost.
“This is a nice way to hit pause for a moment and come out here and actually talk to each other like normal people.”
“This is the best day of the year for Capitol Hill,” said the Bad News Babes coach Abby Livingston, reporter for Puck News. “I always bet on the Bad News Babes.”
Speaking before the game, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) correctly predicted the outcome.
“I think we’re going to win, and we’re going to win with style,” she said.
Team Congress had seven rookies this year and a new pitcher, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who won the team’s MVP award for its 2025 outing. The media babes gave its award to Katie Lobosco, reporter for Tax Notes.
The rookie of the year award was presented to Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.), while the most improved player went to Cicely Wedgeworth, editor at The New York Times.
Finally, the most spirit award was given to CNN’s Brianna Keilar, pitcher for the Bad News Babes, and Scholten of Team Congress.
Other members of Congress were there to support their colleagues, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
The Congressional Women’s Softball Game began in 2009, when Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) announced her fight against breast cancer. Starting the second year, the lawmakers asked members of the D.C. press corps to take them on, starting a tradition 17 years and counting.
“I feel like we all had really good energy out there. This is a time in history where I’ll take all the good vibes I can get and getting good vibes while we’re raising money for a good cause and winning, can’t beat it!” said Davids, the Kansas Democrat.