It would have been difficult to find a more one-sided softball game.

The Midgets With Crew Cuts destroyed Sig Ep, 18-0, in the first game of the intramural softball season at Hawkeye Softball Complex on Tuesday evening.

The domination could be easily seen from the statistics sheet. The Midgets scored 18 runs on 18 hits, and Sig Ep only reached base three times. The Midgets played an errorless game; its opponent committed six errors.

Sig Ep player Mitch Grant succinctly summed up the team’s struggles after the game.

"We need to go back to the drawing board and figure out who we are as a team," the political-science major said. "We need to get to the batting cages a little more, and we need to work on our fielding, especially the infield and outfield. Our pitching was terrible. We can’t hit."

The Midgets is made up of all freshmen. The players are from the suburbs of Chicago, and they met in various classes at the University of Iowa. They also plan to live together this coming fall. Team captain Andrew Cisco said team unity is one of the bigger reasons they played so well.

Each player played baseball in high school, and one plays for the Iowa club baseball team. Even though the team appeared to dominate with its bats, Cisco said hitting was one aspect of the game they could improve.

"We’ve only practiced once, so we didn’t know where everyone was supposed to bat and everything," the business-marketing major said.

Some confusion surfaced during the game because neither team knew all of the rules. Each side had players receive surprise strikeouts because they didn’t know each at-bat starts with 1-1 count. The Midgets also prematurely celebrated at the end of the fourth inning, when they thought they had won by the 10-run rule; they celebrated again an inning later because the rule doesn’t take effect until the end of the fifth inning.

Both teams are being positive looking toward the future, and several Sig Ep players could be heard telling the Midgets that they’ll see them in the playoffs.

"Morale is high," Sig Ep player Matt McParland said. "I think we have a good club here. We’re going to play catch a little more and get into the batting cages. Overall, we’re just going to keep our heads up."

The Midgets didn’t have the best offense in their division on Tuesday. SAE notched 27 runs in a game against the Brew Crew on the adjacent field.

Cisco said he has faith in the team going forward, but there will be challenges along the way.

"It looks like a tough team over there in the purple," he said as he looked at the other game’s scoreboard. "I think we have a good chance this year. We’re just trying to have fun. So I think we’ll do pretty well.

"Don’t mess with the Midgets with Crew Cuts."