Lawmakers from both sides of the isle came together for the Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball game at Nationals Park to raise $140,000 for the Washington Literacy Council and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. After a valiant effort from both teams, Democrats defeated Republicans for only the 15th time in the game’s 48-year history, winning 15-10.

The Democrats came out swinging and found themselves leading by six runs after the second inning. Republicans quickly answered with pop in their bats and manufactured six runs to tie the score. Defense was a different story and after two calls to the bullpen and a few throwing errors, Republicans let the Democrats score nine runs in one inning. The Republican squad did not let the deficit get them down and battled back. Congressman Zach Wamp began the late inning rally by knocking a double into the gap between right and center fields, and driving in a run. The potential comeback eventually fell short and Democrats claimed their first victory since 2000.

Congressman Wamp continued to lead the Republican team on offense and defense. Zach extended his record-breaking hitting streak to 13 consecutive games by going 2-for-4 at the plate and threw out multiple base runners from his fielding position at short-stop. Members of Congress first began playing baseball in our nation’s capitol as a pickup game in 1909. The bipartisan tradition continues to bring lawmakers together to help local charities.