Without the wind, they still won. The Hammer Toes (Facilities Management) won the first-annual Employee Kickball Tournament final 7-6 over the Department of Development and Alumni Relations (K-Ballers) on June 23, three days after a gusty semifinal made the games interesting.

The final drew about 25 spectators, from members of the OUPD to university staff.

“We’re disappointed, for sure,” Erin Sudrovech of the K-Ballers said. “But it was a good game. We lost by one point. … We’re proud of our effort..”

Juan Cantu for the Hammer Toes got the last out of the game, something he did in the semifinal as well. He caught a fly at second base and tagged the runner coming from first. Game over.

The turf burn on his right leg from the previous game’s last out had started to scab over.

“It’s a little sensitive because when you get old it hurts a little more than when you’re younger,” Cantu said.

He said the Hammer Toes performed better in the semifinal.

“But, there’s different people that picked up this game,” Cantu said. “I personally didn’t do all that well. [The K-Ballers] got most of their runs because of me. Last time I made all kinds of great plays, at least I thought, and then this time I committed two big errors. … It’s a good thing that other people were covering for me.”

Even though the wind died down for the championship game, he thought it helped them more in the semifinals.

“We didn’t have to play anything deep [in the semifinals],” Cantu said. “We could all play in close.”

But this time, instead of sputtering, a fly ball could fly.

As for Cantu’s scab, he confirmed after the win: It was worth it.

He said they’ll probably keep the trophy in the shop.