April 7, 2008 — Antilles School claimed victory Sunday in the 12th annual Ruby Rutnik Memorial Softball Tournament, winning 6 to 3 over the All Stars team from All Saints School and Sts. Peter and Paul School.
"Our team never won a Ruby Rutnik tournament so it was a big deal, especially because Ruby Rutnik went to Antilles," said Kayla Joseph, 17, on Monday.
The Antilles team worked very hard, coming back from the loss of a lot of its players last year, she said. Joseph pitched for Antilles, the same position Ruby Rutnik played.
Like Ruby Rutnik, Joseph also hails from St. John.
Ruby Rutnik died at age 21 in a car accident in 1996 while attending American University in Washington, D.C. Her parents, Andrew Rutnik and Janet Cook-Rutnik, organize the tournament around her birthday.
"She was famous for her windmill pitching style," Cook-Rutnik said.
While it was exciting to see the good sportsmanship from all the teams, this tournament was particularly special because her daughter's alma mater won.
With six teams, Cook-Rutnick said, it was a grueling tournament for many of the teams. Some had to play three games in one day, she said.
The All Stars and Antilles played against each other in the last round before the championship game, then immediately went on to play the championship game.
In addition to Antilles and the All Stars, both St. Thomas schools, teams from St. John, St. Croix and Tortola participated.
The tournament went smoothly except for one accident in which a Eudora Kean player fell on her head, Cook-Rutnick said.
"She had to be carried off the field on a stretcher," she said.
The girl was wearing a helmet and suffered no serious injury.
The tournament raises scholarship money for St. John girls, as well as a girl who goes to the winning team's school.
Cook-Rutnik estimated that this year's tournament raised about $15,000 from sponsors and sale of T-shirts, but that figure was lower than other years.
"It seems to be not a great year economically," she said. "Money's tighter."
While the money raised may be down, Cook-Rutnik said attendance at the games was big.
"There was a lot of support," she said.
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